Papa's Mechanical Fish - Hardcover

"Fleming's telling is lively, humorous, and specific." --The Horn Book

"A humorous tribute to the zany, determined and innovative side of invention." --Kirkus Reviews

"There's a rich history of batty inventor/tinkerer dads in children's books, and the girl narrator's father in this book could hang with the best of them." --Booklist

"*The exuberant and inquisitive tone of this book is sure to entertain curious children." --School Library Journal, starred review

Clink! Clankety-bang! Thump-whirr! That's the sound of Papa at work. Although he is an inventor, he has never made anything that works perfectly, and that's because he hasn't yet found a truly fantastic idea. But when he takes his family fishing on Lake Michigan, his daughter Virena asks, "Have you ever wondered what it's like to be a fish?"—and Papa is off to his workshop. With a lot of persistence and a little bit of help, Papa—who is based on the real-life inventor Lodner Phillips—creates a submarine that can take his family for a trip to the bottom of Lake Michigan.