Inspired by a true story, Rocky Waters is about a young boy who
wants nothing more than to fish for lobster with his dad.
All day at school, Rocky stares out the window, imagining fishing boats
sailing across the sky. He wants nothing more than to fish for lobster
with his dad, and finally one season he's old enough to go along.
Before dawn, Rocky, Dad and sister Patsy untie their boat and head out
to sea. Surrounded by the vast expanse of sky and water, Rocky feels as
free as a seagull. His dad steers toward their first buoy, then pulls up
a line of traps full of lobster. Rocky learns how to band their claws,
then Patsy rebaits the traps and shoves them back into the sea. It takes
a full day to haul up, empty, rebait and re-set three hundred traps, but
Rocky loves every minute of it. "If the salt's still in your veins when
you're Patsy's age, you can leave school and fish all you want," his dad
tells him.
Anne Laurel Carter's story is inspired by the childhood memories of
Rocky Gaudet, who grew up wanting to fish the sea like his Acadian
ancestors. He continues to fish for lobster in Prince Edward Island and
Nova Scotia today. Marianne Dumas' naïve watercolor illustrations recall
Rocky's first fishing experience.
Key Text Features
author's note
glossary
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language
Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major
events in a story.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.3
Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or
feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of
events
