A Million Fish...More or Less

by Patricia C. McKissack

Newbery honor author Patricia C. McKissack’s original yarn of the Louisiana bayou is "told with verve and sly wit." ( Publishers Weekly , Starred review)
 
Hugh Thomas knows that the Bayou Clapateaux is a mighty peculiar place. Why, back in 1903, Papa-Daddy and Elder Abbajon caught a turkey that weighed 500 pounds…more or less. 500 pounds?! Hugh Thomas isn’t so sure about that, until he’s left alone on the bayou with only his fishing pole for company. Soon he catches three fish, and then…a million more! But after meeting up with raccoon bandits, thieving crows, and a hungry cat named Chantilly, Hugh Thomas returns home with just enough fish for breakfast…and a fantastic story, of course!

Genres: Picture Books, Mathematics, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, African American, Humor

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1992

About the author

Patricia C. McKissack was the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of The Dark-Thirty and Porch Lies an ALA Notable Book. She collaborated with Jerry Pinkney on Goin' Someplace Special (Coretta Scott King Award winner) and Mirandy and Brother Wind (Coretta Scott King Award winner and Caldecott Honor Book).

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is adorable. Students will love the leftover French included in the text, the hyperbole of storytelling, and how that hyperbole just might be even more grandiose in the Bayou. Thieving crocodiles, any army of racoons, a murder of crows, and sly cats come to steal this boy's fish catch. In the end, he gets to tell his tall tale, and show that he is keeping bayou tradition of storytelling alive.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compelling mix of tall tale, classic three part fairytale, and staunch placement in the bayou’s culture and environment. Hugh listens to his elders’ fantastic experiences, then has one himself.

Mother Tongue Notes: This is a challenging read for students unaware of the setting’s culture. Best read as literature, with explanation of references, and comparison to familiar fairytales.

[Morgan Reed]

Book summary, in your own words: very interesting adventure book. this man named hugh goes fishing in the bayou and weird things start happening, next thing you know he catches one million fish
2) Grade level: Kindergarten- 2nd grade
3) Appropriate classroom use (subject area):
4) Individual students who might benefit from reading: ALL
5) Small group use (literature circles): perfect for small groups to talk about this books.
6) Whole class use (read aloud): absolutely would read this to the class on carpet read.
7) Related books in genre/subject or content area: N/A
8) Multimedia connections (audio book, movie) available: N/A

[Rebecca Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I loved this book when she was young. It was a fun read aloud. I love it now.

[Myah Rusco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book because I think it is a good way to discuss different areas traditions. This story can get students thinking about what different cultures and families do. It also helps to inspire creativity which can be helpful in writing, art, music, etc.

[Cyndi Goodgame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Math and reading. Works for both.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, love this!

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too long and complicated for storytime, but it's a fun tall tale. I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd pick it up a second time.

[IUS F19 Hannah Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be good with second to fourth graders.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure in the Louisiana Bayou, sprinkled with French phrases and Cajun culture, and exploring the fun of creative hyperbole in tall tales. Gorgeous, vibrant illustrations!

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of all time.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect read aloud to teach tall tales with.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and valuable for Diversity and History goals. "Ever since slavery days...." Didn't quite hit the four star mark for *me* but I bet I'd share it with kids and they'd like it.

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Found in the 20th Century Children's Book Treasury**

I cannot believe I had never read this story before. I love it! It made me smile so big the entire time I was reading...more or less.

[Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Million Fish...More or Less by Patricia McKissack is the story of Hugh Thomas and his very interesting adventure in the Bayou Clapateaux. He starts in the bayou fishing when Papa-daddy and elder Abbajon float up and tell him this fantastical story of a 500 pound turkey and all the crazy stuff that happened to them to make them loose it. After they leave Hugh, he goes on to catch over a million fish. He packs them up and starts off back for home to show off his catch. Sadly, and strangely, all these different animals stop him and end up taking some of his fish. Alligators, pirate raccoons, birds, no animal can be trusted and all of a sudden they can talk. How weird is that right? Finally he makes it back home and stops by his friends house to show what is left of his catch. However, his friends cat tricks him into leaving his fish and she and the other cats eat all but three fish. He finally makes it back to the two men and tell them his story of his million fish.
The story is really cute tall tale story that has really nice illustrations. I like all the exaggeration and myths for the location (i feel like it's in Louisiana). It makes for great story telling and something kids would probably love to listen to and read multiple times. This book would be a good way to introduce children to tall tales and legends. Its a great example and tool to teach what exaggeration is and how to use it in writing.

[Madison Freemon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book, a young man named Hugh Thomas goes to the Bayou to fish one afternoon. He soon encounters a pair of elderly men named Papa-Daddy and Elder Abbajon. They tell him that strange things happen in the bayou. They tell him a few seemingly-tall tales which he doesn’t very much believe. Soon after they leave, he continues fishing. After catching one or two fish, he begins to catch more and more and more fish until he has literally ONE MILLION FISH. On his way to show his huge catch to Papa-Daddy and Elder Abbajon, he encounters several obstacles and loses a few of his fish every time. When he reaches the two elderly men, he only has three left. One million, more or less.
I loved the illustrations in this book! They were so vibrant and cheerful

[Quynh Le · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book introduce the concept of estimation and how numbers such as a million is often exaggerated for a huge number of something. In class, students can have fun with an activity where they'll guess a variety of a group of things, such as the number of jelly beans in a small jar versus a big jar, the number of balls in a bag versus a container, and the number of crayons in a bin versus a small box, etc. We can then count the items together as a class, and see how close or far off we were from the real amount.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything can happen on the Bayou Clapateaux. It's not just catching a fish THIS BIG with Papa-Daddy and Elder Abbajon. While they reel young Hugh Thomas in with their amazing tales, Hugh Thomas outdoes them in the amount of fish he catches and the great lengths he goes to bring some of those fish home at the end of the day.

Hugh will need courage, stamina, wit, and bargaining to accomplish the feat. He may not have impressed his girl friend Chantilly, but the hearty laughs and appreciation will flow freely when he meets back up with good ol' Pappy-Daddy and Elder Abbajon.

[Jayetta Carter-mcfarlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be introduced to children who read on at least a second-grade level. It will promote cultural awareness about others who live in the Bayou areas. The writing syle and diversity in use of syntax could aid a lesson about different styles and genres of writing. This book can help children to write by using hyperboles to write tall tales. This book will definitely be an example to them about stretching their imaginations.

[Alesha Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to children so they can gain a better understanding of larger numbers over 100. When little Thomas catches a million fish , but them loses most of them he understands the number one million in a better way. This is a great book to introduce estimation in the class with students. A great activity to do would be to put beans or some other small objects in a jar and have children guess the number of items.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Papa-Daddy and Elder Abbajon tell Hugh a few stories from the Bayou Clapateaux that sound so exaggerated that Hugh believes them to be tall tales, but when he's left to experience some of the bayou's mysterious magic on his own he finds himself with a million fish and one tall-tale of a story that describes how he ended up with only 3 to show at the end of the day.

Vibrant painted artwork. Great storytelling here; recommended for grades 3-5+.

[Kathleen Ruff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book that takes place in the Buyou about a young boy and his obsession of counting. The counts fish, jumping rope with bears but in the process of trying to get home with his millions of fish, animals keep eating some and in the end he only has three fish. Cute book about numbers would possibly be used in a subtraction lesson.

[babyhippoface · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hugh Thomas has always heard that strange things happen in Bayou Clapateaux. When he catches a million fish (more or less) and loses all but three of them, he gains a better understanding of the tradition of bragging in the bayou.

The story was crazy far-fetched (as this kind of braggart story is supposed to be) but barely kept my attention in spite of the originality.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is about Hugh Thomas, who, after hearing a couple of tails of strange things happening in the bayou, catches a million fish (more or less). He then encounters several creatures that, in the end, leave him with just a few fish left. This could be used for a subtraction lesson, by having the kids guess exact how many fish he had and lost.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reprinted and/or excerpt included in The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury: Picture Books and Stories to Read Aloud.

[Jeanette Yanez · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was a really good read. I think this book would be ideal to share with students to offer them the idea that larger numbers are real numbers and sometimes hard to understand. I think the colors also attract a student to pay more attention and listen to the moral of the story. This book offers me a chance to teach math through other lenses that include stories.

[Leslee Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very imaginative and children would be drawn to the creative stories in this children book. The illustrations were also very colorful and added to the text. I would highly recommend reading this book out loud and then a fun discussion following all the tall tale stories would be interesting.

[Courtney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would be a great book to use to introduce larger numbers to children. It is a book that could be followed by a math lesson. It depicts the story of a young boy from Louisiana and his life on the Bayou. I could see where kids would be able to connect with the father-son relationship that is seen through the book.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A southern Tall-tale book. A cute story but isn't a favorite. Our 3 yr old was not into it...and 10 yr old not captivated. But I liked it and thought it is a good story for exposure of the southern tall-tales genre.

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it introduced some larger numbers. Understanding that there are numbers after 100, is sometimes not readily accepted by younger students. So this book would be a great tool to start with.