Jangles: A Big Fish Story (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
Read this 2013-14 Texas Bluebonnet book with my 4th grader. He's a fisherman and couldn't wait to have me read the big fish tale aloud to him. The story was great, a good fish story with a little fantasy stuck in for fun. Coincidentally, we just caught a fish in the Gulf this past summer that already had a lure in the side of its mouth, so my son was able to make connections with the story. Not until the end did I realize that this book is by David Shannon, author of the "David" books which have never been a favorite in our house. We loved the story and the illustrations in this book though! Written in first person format, this book writes about the father telling stories to his son, the writer. One of his favorite stories was the one about Jangles. His father always brought out his green tackle box and shook it to make it jangle like the fishes name for this one. Jangles whole mouth was covered with fishing lures and hooks. They say he even ate eagles from the trees. It's said that Jangles even saved a baby by bringing it safely to shore. The people of the town held tournaments to try and catch Jangles but he snapped lines or couldn't be found.One time my father was o9ut fishing and didn't realize his anchor wasn't on the ground any more so he was drifting. When he realized this he also felt a gentle tug on his line but it didn't feel like a fish. It turned out to be a fishing rod. But as he pulled in the rod, e began to hear the tinkling of metal on metal A gigantic shadow appeared and swallowed up the lure on that old rod. He even got pulled into the lake holding on to that rod. Jangles took him to a cave where all the stories he told were from almost the beginning of time. Then Jangles took him back to the boat. He tricked Jangles and had him upside-down so he couldn't get away. Jangles talked to him and let him know that he needed to do what is right. His father knew he had to let Jangles go but he had to apologize to Jangles first. And then his father gave his son the tackle box with all the lures and hooks inside as proof as he got them all off of Jangles before he set Jangles free.
What do You think about Jangles: A Big Fish Story (2012)?
One of my favorite children's books!
—featherybubbles
