CATFISH TALE by Whitney Stewart

5 STARS

CATFISH TALE
A Bayou Tale of a Fisherman and His Wife
by
Whitney Stewart
Illustrated by
Gerald Guerlais

IF A MAGIC CATFISH GRANTS YOU A WISH...

WHAT WILL YOU WISH FOR?

INTRO
(from Amazon)
Deep in the bayou, a Cajun fisherman named Jack catches a magic fish that offers to grant wishes in exchange for being set free. Jack doesn't have a lot of wishes, but his wife Jolie sure does--for a mansion, a paddleboat, fame and fortune! With each wish, all the fish says is "Ah, tooloulou--if that ain't the easiest thing to do." But when Jolie wants to be crowned Mardi Gras queen, have things gone too far?

 

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 7 years
• Grade Level: Preschool - 2
• Lexile Measure: 700L (What's this?)
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (March 1, 2014)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080751098X
• ISBN-13: 978-0807510988
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 11 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #610,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

 

AUTHOR
Whitney Stewart once caught a magical catfish and threw it back. He granted her so many wishes that she traveled around the world.  Now she lives in New Orleans, home of catfish, crawdads,and crabs.  And don't forget Mardi Gras.  She's always wanted to tell this tale ever since she played the fisherman' wife in a musical.

ILLUSTRATOR
Gerald Guerlais was born in France and grew up in nine different cities throughout the land of cheese.  He adapted to the new schools in each place by developing his drawing skills to make new friends.  In addition to illustration, he has worked in video games and animation.  He lives in Paris.

 

REVIEW
Trouble starts when Jolie and Jacques catch a magic catfish.  Jolie made a mistake by asking for "one little thing"  a big house where her friends and her can sing songs.  Then she makes another mistake.  She has her husband ask "for one more little thing.:  a paddleboat on the Mississippi so in honor of being Mardi Gras Queen she can sing her songs, ride a float and the ultimate thing, being Queen of the Bayou.    This I found to be the cutest ever.  The catfish answers "Ah, tooloulou-if that ain't the easiest thing to do." So Jolie sings out her heart as Bayou Queen but in doing so she stirs up a storm and in doing so, she learns a lesson.  The illustrator had colorful pictures that showed what the bayou country was like,  A humorous alligator who sees everything.  Another thing I liked was the Bayou Glossary at the end of the book with a tasty recipe for seafood gumbo. The author wrote sort of a folk story with all the right things to go with it, an ambitious wife, a husband who is content, a creature who is magical and most important, lesson to be learned.  The author adds such eye catching  words along with the color, creole, critters and the good ole' Mardi Gras.  Children and adults will enjoy reading this tale about things aren't always better on the other side of the fence.  This is an eye catching little book with wonderful pictures and a story that will keep the reader's attention.  WONDERFUL BOOK!  WONDERFUL LESSON! LOTS OF CAJON SPICE!

I received a complimentary copy of CATFISH TALE from the author, Whitney Stewart for my view of the book.

I would give this book 5  CATFISH.

 

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