This story of a father-son fishing trip is probably the richest piece of writing from Sharon Creech that I've ever read. I'd love to use this book to share some great examples of figurative language. Chris Raschka did a great job illustrating this text, and this is coming from someone who doesn't love Raschka illustrations. Phenominal book. I highly recommend it. ( )

With beautiful watercolor illustrations that channel the likeness of Impressionist painters Van Gogh and Monet, Sharon Creech's "Fishing In the Air" tells a story of a boy and his father on his first fishing trip. The story is told through the eyes of the boy, his enthusiasm and the magic of the day told in detail with the gorgeous illustrations twirling and looping around the text.

Sharon Creech's descriptive text takes a hold of the reader and pulls them right into the magic of the moment with equal parts originality and imagination. Wonderful for ages 5+, to be integrated into a library story time or poetry curriculum in school.

Themes: Fishing, Imagination, Family Bonding, Descriptive Language, Watercolor.

Grade: 2-5
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Themes: Memories, Perspective and Imagination, Father/Son
A father set off to spend the day fishing. The story tells of how to look at things differently for example, street lamps are moons and trees are soldiers. The father also describes his childhood home to his son. The illustrations are flowing and many of them nonrepresentational which adds to the imagination. Near the end, the illustrations are a bit overwhelming for me. The illustrations are nice though when there is enough white space on the page. I would use this picture book for older elementary students because some of the imagery may be a bit sophisticated for younger children such as a slice of yellow sun and bubble of breeze. I would use this in writing class to get students to use their imagination with writing. ( )

A child goes on a fishing trip with his father, but on this trip they go fishing in the air. What they catch instead of fish are the father’s memories of his life as a boy and how his own father taught him to fish. A lyrical and moving story. Review by Book Dads ( )

A boy going fishing with his father catches memories and ideas. Illustrations are very colorful and perhaps a bit too cluttered.