The Biggest Fish

Hello Reader! Math Level 3

by Sheila Keenan, Holly Hannon (Illustrator), Marilyn Burns

When all the citizens of Littletown are swept up in a big fishing contest, the big fish stories abound, in a humorous early reader's story that introduces non-standard measurements and explains standard measuring and comparing. Original.

Genres: Mathematics, Childrens, Picture Books

32 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1996

About the author

Sheila Keenan is an established author of fiction and nonfiction for young people. Her books include the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Dogs of War, the picture book As the Crow Flies, I Spy The Illuminati Eye, and O, Say Can You See? America’s Symbols, Landmarks and Inspiring Words, among other selected titles. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Diana]

Strange book. I guess the concept being taught is one of measuring in various units (bus...fire hose...), but it didn't work for me. The book was too visually cluttered and the text did not lend itself to an educational tale. The activities in the back were good, though, so that's something.

[Arely Cortes]

This was a nice little story. The mayor puts up a sign and people come and say how big their fish is. The mayor wanted to see who could get the biggest fish. I was surprised at the end to find out who won.

[Sheli]

Great read aloud book with bright illustrations. Children loved the story!

[Jecel Cortes]

I enjoyed the book. I read the book to my little brother and he liked it. I would 100% read this book again.

[Israel Cortes]

It's so weird that all the people in town want to win.

[Kelly Wickham]

Littletown decided to have a big fish contest. People from all around brought big fish to display to the mayor. Finally, someone painted a giant fish mural, which was the biggest fish of all!

[Jasmine Denise]

Think outside the box with this cute story

[Marcos Cortes]

Is a Biggeat.

[Laura]

Personal reaction: I liked this book. I thought it was humorous and I think kids would like it. What I liked best about this book is the section in the back that contains activities to go along with the book!

Use in the classroom:

1. Read aloud for curriculum: This wouldn't be my first choice for a read aloud, just because I think there are probably better books out there to read aloud that teach the same thing, but you could use it for a read aloud if necessary. I would use it in a math lesson to teach measurement.

2. Independent reading: This book would be a good book for a transitional reader. There is more than one line of text on each page, there is quite a bit of dialogue, there is some repetition, and the vocabulary is more difficult, but not too difficult.

3. Literary elements: This book would be good to teach comparing and contrasting. You have to compare the things in the book for the math part, but you could also talk about the language arts side of comparing.

[Amber Adams]

This narrative told the story of a mayor who wants to attract more tourist into his town. He notices that every other town has something special, so he is looking for something special to show off his town. His asks his town to produce the biggest fish and every fish that is brought to him has to be measured. This book is great for teaching about measuring. The students can draw any image but it has to be a certain length long. This requires the students to use measuring skills.

[Dolly]

This is a strange, but entertaining story about various townspeople one-upping each other to get honor of having the biggest fish. The narrative is short and simple and the illustrations are cartoonishly humorous. I'm not sure that the book does a great job of explaining measurements, but it is an interesting look at comparative size. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Stephanie Anderson]

This book is very simple for young readers and helpful for introducing math problems; such as problem solving and measuring. I would recommend this book in elementary classroom to help students understand the concept of measuring.

[Marissa Lynh]

A book that cleverly implements math.