Water, River, and Fish
Something about the hotter weather turns my thoughts to water. I want to go to the pool, dip my feet in a lake, or dash through the sprinkler. Below are a collection of picture books that celebrate the wonders of water.
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey (1952)
A childhood favorite! Sal’s already excited about the day ahead because she gets to go to town with her father. Then a loose tooth — and the wish that comes with it — rockets the day into unforgettable. From the bedhead kids in the first pages to the gleeful last illustration of the motorboat and promises of clam chowder for lunch, this book is a treat.
The Secret River by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Leo and Diane Dillon (1955/2011)
Times are hard for Calpurnia’s village. Her father has no fish to catch and sell. She gets advice for a wise woman and finds a secret river where she catches so many catfish. Though she wants to give them to her father to sell, she shares them with the creatures and people she encounters, and still has plenty left to turn her father’s fortune around.
Swimmy by Leo Lionni (1963)
A predator eats all the other fish like Swimmy. Alone, he sets off to explore the ocean. He meets lots of different creature before finding others like him. They are too scared to come out and see the sights until Swimmy finds a way to make a lot of little fish seem like one big fish. Lionni’s illustrations are the star of this book.
The Uncorker of Ocean Bottles by Michelle Cuevas and Erin E. Stead (2016)
A lonely man makes it his job to find messages in bottles and deliver them to the intended recipients. He sees how much pleasure these connections bring the recipients and regrets that the messages are never for him. When he uncorks a message about a party with no clear destination, he searches for its the person it is meant for and at last finds the community he seeks. Done in woodblock prints, oil pastels, and pencil, Stead’s illustrations are transporting.
River by Elisha Cooper (2019)
This quiet picture book takes us along for the ride as a woman pilots her canoe along the length of the Hudson River. She encounters wildlife, weather, civilation, hardship, and joy. Throughout, she celebrates the adventure of discovery and independence that the solo trip conjures.
We Love Fishing! by Ariel Bernstein and Marc Rosenthal (2021)
Four friends are going on a fishing trip. Three of them are very excited, and then there’s squirrel. This book would be so fun to read with a little kid so you could discuss how the text tells one story while the pictures and speech bubbles tell another.
The Library Fish by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and Gladys Jose (2022)
The only water in this one is a fishbowl, but I was charmed by this tale of a fish who lives in a library. His favorite thing is story time. When a blizzard keeps the librarians and patrons away, the goldfish finds a way to hold his own story time.