Jeff's Magic Hook

Jeff walked into the kitchen and saw his mum preparing a big red fish for dinner. "Where did you get that big fish, mama?" Jeff asked. "Yah! Yummy fish for dinner, yum, yum, yum!"

"David went fishing today and brought the fish", Jeff's mama told him. "He gave each family in the village a fish."

So Jeff went to David and asked him, "Can you please take me out in your blue canoe and show me how to catch fish with your magic hook? I want to feed my family and the village too".

But David said, "Hey! It is not magic. Let me take you out to the sea and show you what it is."

Splash, the water hit Splash, Splash, against the canoe as David and Jeff paddled out.

When David threw his line into the sea, Jeff watched his hook and waited eagerly for the magic to happen.

He thought all the fish were going to race and chase each other to see who would get to David's magic hook first.

But nothing like that happened. David sat still, then he whistled a tune. Then he looked into the sky and counted the white balls of clouds passing over. He was very patient and he made fishing look like fun.

Then suddenly David felt a tug on his line and amazingly, Jeff felt one too. There were lots of fish swimming around the canoe. It looked like there were hundreds of them. Yeah! Jeff caught the biggest one!

Jeff told his mother later that night that David's hook does not have magic. It was his patience and making fishing fun that attracted all the fish to his hook.

And now Jeff knows how to fish just like David, and he can feed his family and the whole village too!

This book is about how a young boy has a hero who fishes- and he happens to be deaf. From his hero- he learns the secret of successful fishing. This book is meant for Solomon Islands children 0 – 5 years, their families and caregivers. Yes, children even at this age can learn the joy of looking at pictures, storytelling and love of books. It is not important for children at an early age to learn letters or numbers. In fact, when young children are asked to read before their minds and bodies are ready – usually around the age of 5 or 6 years – it can often cause problems during school years and later in life. The most important thing when a child is young is the bonding – the time you spend with them on a regular basis being together, encouraging children to be curious about what they see and hear in the books, copying the actions you see in the books, encouraging children to tell their own stories, allowing them to explore the books on their own – and showing them how much you enjoy and appreciate each child exactly as they are!

This book is part of a series of materials produced during a workshop supported by UNICEF and MERHD in February 2015 for young children and their families/caregivers throughout the Solomon Islands. They are designed to support young children’s holistic development and promote their emergent literacy and learning skills, nurture their self-confidence and increase interactions between children and their families. The best way any family can do this is through their everyday routines. In your own language and from the time a baby is born – talk, sing, tell stories, look at pictures and read to your children. You will be helping your child to develop a life-long love of learning. And you will be spending special time with your child – time that you can never replace!”

Production Team: Christina Bare-Karae, Dorothy Corina Leve, Jullian Fenny Lilo, Nina Davis, Diaduri Vangara, Sherol Mautoa. Photographs: Charles Kadamana (Professional Photographer) Graphic Design: Romulus Huta Graphic Design editor : Selwyn Do’oro Acknowledgements: Hugh, Gregory, Alban, Nester, Israel

“We express special thanks to the children and their families for giving generously of their time and to the participants of the ECD Workshop held in Honiara during February 2015 ECD and Children’s Media Consultant: Barbara Kolucki.

This material is developed by the ECD production team working for UNICEF in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Humanities Department, Solomon Islands.