Elliot and the Impossible Fish. Rebecca North. Illustrated by Laurel Keating. St. John’s, NL: Tuckamore, 2017. 32 pp., pbk., $12.95. ISBN 978-1-77103-102-8. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7. Review by Reesa Cohen. *** /4

excerpt:

Elliot wanted to catch the biggest fish that anyone had ever seen.

He wanted to catch a fish so big it would be on TV. Elliot’s dad was a fisherman. He worked on a big fishing boat out on the ocean. Elliot wanted to be a fisherman too.

One night, as Elliot’s dad was tucking him into bed, Elliot asked, “Can I come fishing with you Tomorrow?”

“Not Tomorrow, Elliot. I have to work, but we can go fishing at the lake this weekend.” “No, no, no, I don’t want to go fishing on a lake. I want to come to come to work with you and fish on the ocean. That’s where there are GIGANTIC fish.

Elliot’s pleading is to no avail, and a disappointed Elliot looks out his bedroom window and makes a wish on a bright star in the sky. “I wish I could catch the biggest fish that anyone has ever seen!”

     When Elliot awakens, it would seem like his wish has come true, and he finds him self floating on the ocean in a boat. This is his chance to try out his fishing skills. But after waiting... and waiting ... and waiting, the big one eludes him. He is given all kinds of advice by a number of animals, like the puffin, a seal, a humpback whale and a jaeger, who encourage him to fish like they do, using their unique fishing skills. He tries their instructions, and they all declare that he can’t successfully fish and, in fact “Its impossible!” But not in Elliot’s determined imagination. The sweet ending is humorous and most satisfying.

     Softly coloured, comic illustrations, full of energy and fun, add to the playfulness of the rollicking text of Elliot and the Impossible Fish.

Recommended.

Reesa Cohen is a retired Instructor of Children’s Literature and Information Literacy at the Faculty of Education, University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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