Guided by his uncle Adam, Jack, a pale-skinned boy with light hair, ventures out onto a lake in hopes of reeling in a catch that’s large enough to feed his family. Back on shore, his excitement turns to nervousness once he realizes that his meager haul might not satisfy the growing numbers of mouths to feed—the weekly fish frys are not a family dinner but a community event. “Then it hits me—the small catch! I was so excited to see everyone that I forgot we might not have enough.” The focus on extended family over the nuclear family sets this book apart from other books aimed at this age range. Jack fishes with his uncle, leaves the cleaning of the fish to his grandfather, helps his grandmother set the table, plays with his cousin, and invites his neighbors and friends, learning that “no one goes hungry at a fish fry.” Sprtel’s warm color palette denotes fishing at dawn, and wisps of a brush stroke carry the scent of frying fish to a neighbor.