Grandpa’s First Fishing Trip is based on a poem by Bill, Muriel, and Corey Walker Rewritten by Jamie Walker Illustrations by Jonathan D. Hallett, Coloring by Haylee Eaton Edited by Charlotte McDonald When I was younger, my brother Corey and I would spend a night each week at our grandparent’s home in Junction City, Oregon. It was usually on a Thursday night so we could get their help preparing for tests that we took the next day. Our grandma was a retired school teacher and loved the chance to have us stay with her. She liked helping us with homework projects. On one occasion, Corey was assigned to write a poem based on a real-life event. He worked with Grandpa Bill Walker and Grandma Muriel Walker to write it. As they thought about what to write, Grandpa told Corey the tale of his first fishing experience when he was eight years old. Grandma then helped Corey to write the words. The poem had to be 40 lines of rhyming couplets in narrative style. Some years later, I took that poem and modified it, adding a few lines of my own to create a fun, enlightening, and witty family tale with a moral. Grandpa’s First Fishing Trip is the result. Jamie Walker

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