Fishing Day by Andrea Pinkney

Pinkney, Andrea Davis., and Shane Evans. Fishing Day. New York: Jump at the Sun, Hyperion Books for Children, 2003. ISBN: 978-1442440920.

Brief plot summary:

Fishing Day is a story about a young Black girl, Reenie, and her mother living in the times when segregation was still the law. They enjoy fishing together on the local river for fun. There is also a young White boy, Peter, and his father who fish on the same river, but they do it out of necessity rather than sport. Reenie and her mother keep catching fish, while Peter and his father haven’t gotten a single nibble. The two families have never talked to each other while fishing on “Jim Crow River” but this time Reenie decides to be kind and give Peter her bait and show him how to better catch fish. Peter ends up catching two fish at one time after Reenie’s help, making him and his dad very excited. Reenie’s kindness broke a barrier and created a friendship in a time when it was not accepted.     

Critical analyses:

Overall impression: Good story about treating others with kindness and empathy despite differences.

Fishing Day is rich in cultural markers. Set during the time of Jim Crow laws, the main character, Reenie, and her mother are faced with prejudice and unfairness while doing one of their favorite pastimes: fishing. The story is told from Reenie’s point of view using authentic dialogue and dialects (“Mama and me, we sure love fishing”). The exact setting is not told by the narrator, but Pinkney states in her author’s note that this story was based on her own experiences growing up in New York. Although she did not grow up when segregation was the law, she still experienced many prejudicial acts. When describing the stream, Reenie mentions that it is called “Jim Crow river” but until her mom explains the meaning, she did not seem to make the connection (“The law says black people have a place, white people have a place, and the two should steer clear of each other”). Pinkney does not explain Reenie’s financial situation, but she implies that Peter and his father are poor. This is refreshing because it goes against the white=rich, black=poor stereotype. Lastly, the illustrations by Evans do a wonderful job of expressing the deeper meaning within the story. I didn’t quite notice the purpose in doing this, so I won’t take the credit, but the Publisher’s Weekly review of Fishing Day stated that “[h]is compositions emphasize the issues of boundaries: as the Troops approach, large-scale depictions of Reenie and her mother give way to tightly, explicitly framed close-ups that literally box in the characters. And when Reenie makes her overture, she stands on the spread free of any frame, extending a hand into a framed image of Pigeon—visually demonstrating that friendship dissolves borders.” Pinkney wrote this story “[t]o show that children, if given the chance to formulate their own ideas about differences and tolerance, will often do what is right. Fishing Day comes from the belief that generosity and kindness reach beyond all boundaries.”

Review excerpts:

"A gentle tale with a big punch.”

--Kirkus, November 2003

“Strong faces are the highlight of Evans' illustrations, with backgrounds minimal and the river stylized swirls of blue; a stillness pervades the scenes, nicely corresponding to the low-key tone of Pinkney's prose.”

--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, January 2004

Connections (related books, activities, children’s responses, etc.):

Kids could discuss times when they were kind to people that weren’t kind to them. They could also discuss bullies and why people are bullies and how to respond to them. Also, an important subject to discuss would be Jim Crow laws and African American history in the United States.