Review
"""Thoroughly researched text and full-page lively watercolour illustrations trace Fish's journey. The straightforward writing style will be accessible to newly independent readers, but it is equally appealing to adults...This highly attractive book, with its fascinating story of one rare creature's survival, will make a valuable contribution to the growing collection of children's literature about conservation issues.""" (
CM: Canadian Review of Materials 2007-11-09)
"""A fascinating tale about survival amid both natural and man-made dangers, Big Fish concludes with a handful of scientific facts about sturgeon. A brief letter by
Rick Hansen...rounds out this engaging fishy adventure spanning nearly two centuries.""" (
Midwest Book Review 2007-02-01)
"""Teacher, editor, and award-winning writer
Maggie de Vries's latest book wonderfully recreates the impressive tenacity of this species. Her writing is clean and straightforward, and she presents her information in a timeline format that is most effective. For every important event in Big Fish's life, the text is prefaced with the date and her age, weight, and length. This clearly indicates the dramatic physical proportions of the sturgeon, as well as how she survives the passing decades with her stoic instincts intact. We are both reading a work of non-fiction and indulging in the life story of a quiet heroine...
Renne Benoit...provides lovely earth-toned paintings in keeping with the murky environment of the sturgeon. Big Fish glides from page to page, visually anchoring readers in her world.""" (
Quill & Quire 2007-09-10)
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
MAGGIE DE VRIES is a writer, editor, and teacher, and the award-winning author of several children’s books, including How Sleep Found Tabitha and Chance and the Butterfly. Her adult non-fiction title Missing Sarah was shortlisted for a Governor General’s Award and won the first annual George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in BC Literature for 2004. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two cats.
RENNÉ BENOIT is an award-winning artist who has illustrated many books for children, including Jason’s Journey and Goodbye to Griffith Street, which won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize in 2005. She now lives in southern Ontario with her husband and her two dogs.
