Water Sports Books

The Barefoot Fisherman: A Fishing Book for Kids

Paul Amdahl

Amazon Price: $7.95 List Price: $7.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Clearwater Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 21 new & used starting at $2.07

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Sports & Activities -> Camping

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Learing how to catch fish as a kid is easier than I thought 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I went fishing once when I was a kid, but I certainly did not know what I was doing. I caught a couple of fish, which we released, but had trouble getting the hooks out without really damaging the fish (yes, I have guilt over this; the reason for killing a fish would be to eat it). My kids have gone a couple of times with Granddad Nelson in the mountains of California and have all enjoyed success, but they were pretty much told where to stand and what to do and the only thing that mattered in the end was that my son was ticked that his younger sister caught the biggest fish (we have the photo to prove it). So we know virtually nothing about the art of fishing. Enter "The Barefoot Fisherman: A Fishing Book for Kids."

Books trying to teach kids how to do things are tricky, especially when it comes to providing the proper balance between breadth and depth. Paul Amdahl covers a lot of ground quickly and proficiently. The tone is authoritative without condescending into juvenile humor as a way of enticing readers. Clearly fishing is serious business, which is why "The Barefoot Fisherman" keeps the focus on what to do and why. If Amdahl is talking about equipment then that means reels, rods, and line; not only defining each but explaining when and why you would use each along with their strengths and weaknesses. There are photographs (B&W) throughout the book to illustrate key concepts and to show the young readers lots of different types of fish. Amdahl covers a bunch of different types of fish, focusing on where to find them and how to catch them (Just plan on getting your hands dirty).

There is also a key philosophy at work throughout "The Barefoot Fisherman." The main thing is that fishing is fun and that while catching fish does have an element of luck to it there are certain things you can do to make it more likely that you will be lucky. What Amdahl offers are not rules (i.e., no guarantees), but rather good, practical advice to help young readers to become young fishermen. At the end of the book he tells his readers to never step on wet rocks, be careful when you are by yourself, and to have fun. By the time neophyte fishermen get to that point they should feel pretty confident about going out and trying to catch some fish. Now, chances are that I am never going to do a whole lot of fishing in the future, mainly because this book does not talk about how to cut through the ice that covers out lakes this time of the year, but someday I might have some grandchildren that could benefit from taking this book down from my shelf. Hey, it could happen.

Editorial Review:

A fishing book for kids

A Good Day's Fishing

Amazon Price: $12.40 List Price: $16.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 40 new & used starting at $3.50

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> Picture Books

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Perfect for those who need it 4 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

I am a librarian who loves the vast variety of humankind. I love knowing that when I walk down the street I could easily be walking past the greatest parachutist or professional kite flyer in the world, and I would never know. The hobbies and talents of the people of this world takes my breath away. Which makes reviewing a title like, "A Good Day's Fishing" an incredibly complex arrangement. First of all, I have never fished. Not a day of my life. This isn't because I dislike fishing or find it disgusting in some way. I've just never been a situation where someone handed me a pole and a tackle box and said, "Let's catch a few" (or words to that extent). Like many people I've flipped past fishing shows on PBS on cloudy Sunday afternoons and idly wondered who watches that stuff. But I have every respect for the people who enjoy the sport. Author James Prosek enjoys the sport. He enjoys it so much that he's written and illustrated multiple texts on trout, fly fishing, and other such topics. He's sort of the author/illustrator prodigy of the fish world. And now, at the grand old age of 29, he's switched his focus to children's books. No matter how big an author, no matter what their specialty, sooner or later everyone tries to write a book for kids. And that's where I come in. Looking "A Good Day's Fishing" over, I was baffled. As I've mentioned, I'm not exactly experienced in the hobby. I mean, I really enjoyed the recent children's book by Cynthia DeFelice, "The Missing Manatee", that outlines fishing in great exciting detail. But a picture book that simply catalogues the things you need to catch yourself a crappie or a pumpkinseed sunfish.... let's just say that there's a very specific type of child that's going to find this book enthralling.

Now the book follows a kid as he goes through his tackle box and tells the reader that, "what I need for a good day's fishing is in here somewhere!". We look at various lures and the fish each one is adept at catching. There are spinners for yellow perch and bobbers and sinkers to catch carp. We see extra line and a wide range of hooks (which, the hero notes, are cool) alongside forgotten maggoty sandwiches (my favorite part, actually) and a stray eel. There are rods and plugs and flies and lures. And finally, "my hat", which ends the text. We are then treated to a large lure and fly glossary that tells you absolutely every last little thing you ever needed to know about the equipment listed in the book.

This kind of book is so specialized that I cannot really recommend it to anyone who ISN'T downright fascinated by fishing. But if your child leaps at the chance of standing alongside large bodies of water with their own little tacklebox, then I can think of no book better than this one. Admittedly, I'm a little baffled as to why this book got on the New York Public Library's 2004 100 Books to Remember list. It's too specific to please a great many people (and frankly, if you're not a fisherperson yourself, the glossary reads like stereo instructions). But Prosek's put his heart into it, and it shows. Wielding his watercolor brush with great panache he's as adept at drawing the tiniest little white maggot as he is a largemouth bass gunning for a plug. This is a lovely book to look at. And detailed out the wazoo.

So if you like fishing and want your kids to like it (or they already do) then this is the perfect picture book for them. If you've merely a mild interest in the sport, however, avoid this book at all costs. For those that need it, nothing else will do. For those that don't, there are other fishies in the sea.

Editorial Review:

What I need for a good day's fishing is in here somewhere....

What's the secret to a good day's fishing?

Bright sun.

Cool breeze.

Favorite rod and reel.

Tackle box with bobbers,

hooks, and sinkers.

But we haven't gotten

to the secret...yet.

James Prosek, best-selling author of Trout and Fly-Fishing the 41st,tells the story of a good day's fishing in this beautiful picture book, illustrated with the author's own gentle watercolors. For those who want to learn more about how to fish, there's a comprehensive glossary of lures and flies in the back of the book. A Good Day's Fishing will make a fisherman or fisherwoman out of anyone -- even a first-timer.

Whale Talk

Chris Crutcher

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 78 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( C ) -> Crutcher, Chris
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> School
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> Prejudice & Racism -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 79 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

T. J. Jones is black, Japanese, and white; his given name is The Tao (honest!), and he's the son of a woman who abandoned him when she got heavily into crack and crank. As a child he was full of rage, but now as a senior in high school he's pretty much overcome all that. With the help of a good therapist and his decent, loving, ex-hippie adoptive parents, he's not only fairly even-keeled, he has turned out to be smart and funny.

Injustice, however, still fills him with fury. So when big-deal football star Mike Barbour bullies brain-damaged Chris Coughlin for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket, T.J. hatches a scheme for revenge. He assembles a swim team (in a school with no pool) made up of the most outrageous outsiders and misfits he can find and extracts a conditional promise of those sacred letter jackets from the coach. After weeks of dedicated practice at the All Night Fitness pool, the seven mermen get good enough not to embarrass themselves in competition. The really important thing, though, turns out to be the long bus rides to meets, a safe place to share the hurts that have made them who they are. Meanwhile, T.J.'s father, who has taken in a battered little girl to ease his lifelong guilt over his role in the accidental death of a baby, tangles with another bully--her stepfather--and his growing murderous rage.

Chris Crutcher, therapist and author of seven prize-winning young adult books, here gives his many fans another wise and compassionate story full of the intensity of athletic competition and hair-raising incidents of child abuse. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell

The Raft

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTrophy Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $2.06

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Imagine passing a summer drifting up and down a slow-moving river, watching as cranes, turtles, raccoons, otters, and ducks grow accustomed to your presence. Envision days spent poling the raft through lily pads and grasses, glimpsing foxes through the trees on shore. On hot, sticky nights, picture a tent set up on the raft, from which you have an unobstructed view of huge bucks drinking from the moonlit river. Nicky has no idea what he's getting into when his father drops him off for the summer at his grandmother's cottage in the woods. And he's not especially pleased at the prospect. "There's nobody to play with ... She doesn't even have a TV." But this "river rat" is not the normal kind of grandma. Without pushing, she quietly allows Nicky to discover for himself the wonders of river life. Gradually, Nicky's interest in drawing the wildlife he sees brings him closer to his artist grandmother, and to an inner peace that looks as though it will last for a lifetime.

Jim LaMarche draws on his own childhood summer experiences for this lovely, serene story. As the light and weather change through the summer, the river reflects all the beauty of the season. LaMarche has illustrated many remarkable and award-winning picture books, including the magical Little Oh and The Rainbabies. (Ages 4 to 9) --Emilie Coulter

The Melting of Maggie Bean

Tricia Rayburn

Amazon Price: $5.99 List Price: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Aladdin Amazon Marketplace: 55 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> Weight

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Maggie looked down and barely saw her toenails peeking out from the shadow of her stomach. She closed her eyes and slowly stepped onto the scale. Once she finally opened her eyes, Maggie almost fell off the scale.

Maggie Bean's having a tough year. Since her dad lost his job he spends more time watching TV than talking to his family, and her mom's totally stressed about money. So Maggie focuses on what she does best: keeping up her straight-A average and eating chocolate.

Lots and lots of chocolate.

But everything changes when Maggie gets a chance to try out for the synchronized swim team. Becoming a Water Wing has always been Maggie's dream -- who wouldn't want to have an instant circle of friends and wear that cute silver bathing suit? As a Water Wing, maybe she'll start believing she's more than just a socially awkward bookworm. Maybe people will see past the extra weight she's recently gained to the funny, cool girl hiding underneath. And maybe, just maybe, Peter Applewood will finally notice her.

It all depends on Maggie Bean, who thinks she knows who she is, but is about to find out for sure.

The Little Sailboat (Lois Lenski Books)

Amazon Price: $9.56 List Price: $11.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $1.69

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> Picture Books
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( L ) -> Lenski, Lois

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Wonderful Sailing Story! 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Our two year old boy-girl twins really like this story. We are a family that sails and this little book has basic information about being on the water and sailing, it talks about tacking and jibing. But, for non-sailing families this is a sweet book about a little boy that goes for a sail with his dog, catches a fish, sees a storm coming and knows to go home, and takes care of his boat.

As with other Lois Lenski books, the pictures are clear and crisp with enough detail to be interesting but not overwhelming.

This story is a timeless treasure.

Our favorite nightime story book 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

We really like to use this book to read to our son (2 year old) because it contains a little story, it's short enough that he can follow it, there is plenty of pictures to keep him interested with as many occasion to teach him some new vocabulary.
We would also recommend very much Mr Small little Farm.

Editorial Review:

Mr. Small is a sailor in this maritime adventure! Captain Small and his dog Tinker sail and fish together. When a storm comes, Captain Small heads for the safety of the shore. A comforting, nostalgic story full of information about sailing.

Maisy's Pool

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $3.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Candlewick Amazon Marketplace: 67 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Baby-3 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Perfect for one-year-olds! 5 out of 5 stars.
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.

I've read this book so many times to my 15-month-old, I can recite it from memory! He started going nuts for it around the time he turned one; that's when he wanted a little more of a story line. This book and the other three in the group (Maisy's Bedtime, Maisy Dresses Up, and Maisy Makes Gingerbread) are one step up from the one-picture-and-one-word per page kinds of books for babies, but not so high up that they start having way too much text per page. A typical page in this book is "Maisy and Talullah are feeling hot." Just one or two simple sentences and one wonderful bright Lucy Cousins illustration per page-spread; ten page-spreads total.

Editorial Review:

Maisy's fun and familiar world reflects favorite TV episodes—and the lively adventures young children have every day.

One of four adventures familiar to children who watch Maisy on TV, in MAISY'S POOL, Maisy and her friends splash in a wading pool. As always, toddlers, preschoolers, and parents will find the ordinary extraordinary with Maisy!

The Berenstain Bears by the Sea (Step-Into-Reading, Step 1)

Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain

Amazon Price: $3.99 List Price: $3.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Random House Books for Young Readers Amazon Marketplace: 117 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 4-8 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Bears -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A fun family outing with the Bears 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

In "The Berenstain Bears by the Sea," co-authors Stan and Jan Berenstain take Mom, Dad, and the two cubs to a vacation by the seashore. The cartoony illustrations of the humanoid bears are visually delightful, and the easy-to-read text is great for younger readers.

Although this book is meant for an audience of young children, I must admit that, as an adult reader, I found it quite enjoyable. How can you resist lines like "May we? May we? / May we, please, / dip our tootsies / in the seas?"

This book portrays a family that genuinely enjoys spending time together. And it even teaches a lesson in the virtue of patience. This Bears romp is a great choice for the beginning reader.

Editorial Review:

Now young children can read Bear Country tales all by themselves! In the

Berenstain Bears' exciting Step into Reading debut, Brother and Sister can't

wait to go swimming. But first, there are many jobs to do in the Bear Family's

summer house. There are rooms to clean, groceries to put away, closets to air

out, suitcases to unpack, and on and on. Will the cubs ever get to dip their

tootsies in the sea?

What the Sea Teaches Us: The Crew of the Morning Light

Jeff Kurtti

Amazon Price: $16.47 List Price: $24.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Disney Editions Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $15.20

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Social Issues -> General

Editorial Review:

"There are many lessons in sailing," Roy E. Disney believes. "Not just about competition, but the importance of teamwork, good communication, reliance in self, trust in others, and what the sea teaches us all about patience, perseverance, and just plain luck." This idea is brought to vivid life in What the Sea Teaches Us: The Crew of the Morning Light, a beautiful companion book to Roy E. Disney's remarkable sailing documentary, Morning Light.

Every other year, ambitious and adventure-hungry sailors embark on an ocean race that starts in Los Angeles, California and finishes in Hawaii-the Transpacific Yacht Race. The race is one of the most challenging and competitive sporting events in the world, and has been drawing in generations of sailors for over a hundred years with its beguiling siren's song.

This book chronicles the recruitment, training, and performance of one of the youngest crews ever to compete in the race. With an average age of 21.2 years, these fifteen fearless young sailors battled the elements and the odds as, on their own, they sailed a Transpac 52 called Morning Light across the Pacific Ocean. None were actors. There was no script, and no preconceived outcome.

More than an account of the competition, What the Sea Teaches Us gives readers unique insight into the individual personalities and defining characteristics that brought these young people to the Morning Light project, and accompanies them on their emotional, educational, and spiritual journeys, from the selection process and a strenuous, improvisational training program, through sea trials and on to the completion of the 2007 Transpac race.

Lavishly illustrated throughout in color and black and white-and featuring spectacular photography by award-winning photographer Sharon Green-What the Sea Teaches Us is a moving and compelling record not only of a journey on the sea but in the hearts and minds of a one-of-a-kind group of dedicated young sailors.

The Young Man And The Sea

Rodman Philbrick

Amazon Price: $5.99 List Price: $5.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Scholastic Paperbacks Amazon Marketplace: 59 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Action & Adventure

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 32 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The Young Man And The Sea 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Skiff Beaman is in a boatload of problems. First, his mom dies, His dad is as lazy as a sack of potatoes, and to top it all of his boat sinks, so little Skiff goes on a mission to turn his whole life around.
All is well, until he runs into a problem with money. The Young Man and the Sea is by Rodman Philbrick. Never did he give away the amazing ending.
Little Skiff has to find a way to get the money he needs for the engine of his boat. One day while Skiff is at the dock, he finds a man that just caught a giant tuna for millions of dollars. All he has to do is catch a giant tuna, bring back to town, and sell it. The only thing stopping him is Tyler Croft.
The next night, Skiff sets out in his 10-foot boat to catch the biggest fish in the world. While On his way he runs into many problems, in fact he comes close to death. All Skiff is doing, is praying he doesn't become the fish food.
Will Skiff be the richest kid in town? Will he even make it back home with a giant tuna at 30 miles out to sea with a bucket of bait, a harpoon, and three PB&J sandwiches?
This book is mostly for boys, and tells you; never let anyone put you down. It is a very adventures book, and I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.

Editorial Review:

Twelve-year-old Skiff Beaman's mom just died, and his fisherman dad is too depressed to drag himself off the couch and go to work. So these days Skiff has to take care of everything himself. But when his dad's boat sinks, Skiff discovers it will cost thousands to buy a new engine. Skiff's lobster traps won't earn him enough, but there are bigger fish in the sea -- bluefin tuna. If he can catch one of those monster fish, Skiff just might save the boat -- and his family.