First Fish Stories

My kids love everything related to water. Even when not actually fishing or boating, my family plays fishing related games and still hits every aquarium, boat show, fish hatchery, and pet store just for the chance to see something aquatic.

Some selected early reading material may have contributed to this enthusiasm.   Here are a few titles that come to mind:

The Classic, “Red Fish, Blue Fish” by Dr. Seuss is a great introduction to fish for early readers with the fun rhymes and bright colors of smiling creatures.

“Trout Trout Trout” by April Pulley Sayre is described as more of an amusing “chant” than a story for ages 5-8. Wacky illustrations accompany an introduction to many amazing species of freshwater fish.

We recently discovered the “Fishing Kids” series by Mike Holliday.  These three early chapter books are fishing mysteries where the discovery along the way is useful information about fish biology, species characteristics, and techniques to catch.

I should also include that the romping, childhood adventures of Patrick McManus have been popular in our family. To help entertain with long road trips when my brother and I were young, Mom often read his outdoor humor books aloud. The only downside was that Dad, the driver, would laugh so hard the old station wagon might have weaved a bit on the road.

What “fishy” books do you read to your kids?

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Andy Whitcomb

Andy is an outdoor writer (http://www.justkeepreeling.com/) and stressed-out Dad has contributed over 380 blogs to takemefishing.org since 2011. Born in Florida, but raised on banks of Oklahoma farm ponds, he now chases pike, smallmouth bass, and steelhead in Pennsylvania. After earning a B.S. in Zoology from OSU, he worked in fish hatcheries and as a fisheries research technician at OSU, Iowa State, and Michigan State.