Give Me Back My Dad!

by Robert Munsch, Michael Martchenko (Illustrator)

Cheryl and her dad go ice fishing, but it turns out that the fish are pretty smart. They are trying to catch the people right back. In the end, Cheryl and her father bring home something really good... and it's not a fish at all.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Canada, France, School, Juvenile

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Robert Munsch was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

He studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centers. In 1973, he received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University. In 1975 he moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

Munsch's wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980. Out of the tragedy, he produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever. This book was listed fourth on the 2001 Publishers Weekly All-Time Best selling Children's Books list for paperbacks at 6,970,000 copies (not including the 1,049,000 hardcover copies). The Munsches have since become adoptive parents of Julie, Andrew and Tyya (see them all in Something Good!)

Munsch has obsessive-compulsive disorder and has also suffered from manic depression. In August 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his ability to speak in normal sentences. He has recovered enough that he is able to perform live, but has put his writing career on hold until he is fully recovered.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheryl and her father decide to go ice fishing. While prepping the hole, Cheryl's father reminds her that these fish are smart and will do all in their power not to be caught. Cheryl scoffs at the warning and prepares to fish, but is soon caught up in one of the fish traps. Her father fights back and forces the fish to bargain. However, these fish are not done yet, trying to lure a larger catch in the form of Cheryl's father overboard. When that seems to work, Cheryl must negotiate in return. By the end, Cheryl's father teaches her a valuable lesson about how to outsmart a fish without making it look obvious. Neo liked the story, particularly that it was about a dad, someone he seems to enjoy reading alongside. As with many Munsch stories, Neo was able to find himself in the middle of the tale and got more excited as things progressed.

[One Code 431 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honesty the story was repeating kinda first the daughter was taken then same thing happened with the dad and they both come back . although It makes me sad for the fishes knowing how sad the son was for his father awwwwwwwww

[Mandiann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book for a Canadian child. I think this will be a favourite of my sons dad to read to him one day!

[Richelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love loved this one!! so funny! made me literally laugh out loud! "be careful of the fish, cuz they are very smart". A dad and daughter go ice fishing.. they cast a line but aren't catching anything.. until a line pops up out of the water with a choc bar on it! the fish are fishing for people! so funny! I'd never read this one, but to me it's a classic! one of the best ones!!

[paige turner ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love, love, love this story!

I don't even know what I was expecting when I started reading this book, but it was way better than I could have ever hoped for.

I laughed a lot during this story, I loved how the fish went fishing for people, and the people went fishing for fish, and there seemed to be this weird warlike thing going on.

I started laughing hard when Cheryl took the bait and got dragged in the water by the fish, and the dad was like "Give me back my daughter," and the fish replied with, "We caught her fair and square."

I wish Robert Munsch had more books like this one.

[AaronB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Give Me Back My Dad is a very funny book. A girl named Cheryl goes ice fishing with her dad. She gets very impatient and when her dad says "Be careful, the fish are smart," she doesn't listen to him and she grabs a candy bar that pulls her under the ice. The father trades a baby fish for his daughter and then her dad gets pulled under by a $50,000 bill and Cheryl trades a daddy fish for her dad and her dad still has the bill which means they go back to town and Cheryl gets her own brand new snowmobile.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A teenager named Ben comes in to my library every Tuesday with his EA to pick out Robert Munsch books, and he is obsessed with this one in particular.

Yesterday he was proudly showing me that he has his own house keys, and I confessed that I always lose mine. Was he worried about losing his keys? Ben replied, echoing the book's protagonist: "I'M NOT THAT DUMB!" He then cackled and repeated the phrase several times for effect.

Since he references it so much, I finally decided to pick it up, and I have to say for a 2010's Munsch book it's quite funny. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who is smarter, a human or a fish. There are some pretty smart and pretty tricky fish in this book. It will take a master genius to outwit them. The story has some problems, like does a $50,000 bill actually exist. Overall it’s a fun read.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the repetition of events to drive the point home as well as the escalation of events. I also like how the dad planned for the child to show what they learned by saving him and allowing them to go home with more than what they planned.

[Emily Geilman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for read aloud

[Mandeep’s reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

DD also liked this one

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious way to catch fish!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cracked up my Kindergarteners. Silly fun.

[Kayci Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fantastic Robert Munsch story!

[Genevieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused cause the fish talks and how could a kid carry a dad?! And if you are being dragged by a line you should just let go! It's easy! The book is about a baby fish and a daddy fish well it's about two dad ones a fish and ones a person and two babies. A baby fish and a person. I loved all the characters because they made it fair. I liked this book and would recommend it to other people.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheryl and her dad go ice fishing. Her dad warns her that the fish are very smart there, but Cheryl is sure she is smarter than any fish. This story is so funny with trickery and outsmarting, and great illustrations.

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book. This would be a good book for a dad to read to the kids. The story is about ice fishing.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun.

[Christine Rains · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl and her dad go ice fishing. Dad warns her that the fish are smart, but she doesn't realize just how smart!

Very cute. Makes my six-year-old laugh out loud. Love the illustrations.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. Typical Munsch/Martchenko fare. Enjoyable but doesn't stand out in their whole body of work. Could be used to talk about safety on the ice.