Gone Fishing

Twice this week I read Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamera Will Wissinger...once in the bookshop and once from the library. I was lured to the book by its cover. An eager boy (Sam) walks ahead of his whistling dad and his trying-to-catch-up sister (Lucy). Above their fishing pole tips, the subtitle swirls. Most poems are from Sam, who is eager to go fishing with his dad. Alone. The two hunt for nightcrawlers (something my brother and I did on many summer nights) and "tiptoe near and grab them quick." When Lucy invades his tackle box, Sam (complete with a nasty facial expression) delivers a curse poem entitled "A Fishy Spell" to warn her not to take his gear ever again. Eventually, the three go out in the boat together, and they come home changed from the experience.

The 41 poems (of 32 different forms) that comprise the story caught my attention in a variety of ways. Some made me want to try that form. Some just made me laugh! Some took me back to how it feels when I wanted to be the only one. Some had to be reread so I could ponder the feelings and images. Matthew Cordell's illustrations so perfectly complement the poems.

The very helpful Poet's Tackle Box gives information about each literary device and poem form used in the book. Lucy's "Heeere, fishy, fishy, fish. Tasty worms for lunch today" song just might be the tip for luring fish to the hook...and readers to this book.