Papa's Mechanical Fish
Picture Book Read Aloud
book summary
Papa’s Mechanical Fish is a fictional account of inventor Lodner Phillips, the man who designed The Whitefish, a submarine.Virena’s father is an inventor who becomes obsessed with creating a vessel that can move underwater like a fish. Her father drew up the plans for his invention and set out to create it. Once he had it built, he loaded the family inside and took them out onto the lake to test it, but it didn’t work. Virena’s father did not give up. He kept revising his design in hopes that he would find one that would work. Each time his submersible boat did not work, one of his children would provide the inspiration he needed to make the next set of revisions by asking questions such as “Papa, I wonder what it’s like to be a fish?” and “Papa, how do fish move through the water?” and “Papa, how do fish stay dry?” He would take those questions and add to or improve upon his design until he finally had one that worked as he had envisioned.
suggested teaching point
On page 1, take the opportunity to explain to reader why authors use onomatopoeia.
The young girl begins this story by asking the readers, “Hear that?” “Clink! Clankety-bang! Thump-whittt!” The author uses onomatopoeia here. Onomatopoeia is when a word describes a sound and actually mimics the sound of an object or action. Authors use onomatopoeia because it appeals to the sense of hearing and helps bring stories to life in the mind of the reader.
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