Review: Going Fishing with Nana

Going Fishing with Nana is another superb Magabala Books publication written by Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali and illustrated by Karen Briggs. It is an adventurous follow-up to On the Way to Nana’s, published in 2017.

The day has finally arrived to pick up Nana and go fishing.

It will be a long drive, but luckily there are many interesting things to look at along the way. 

Waterholes, boab trees, and the peeping, squinting, glaring eyes of many Australian animals, birds and insects.

This book has a beautiful rhythmic, repeated refrain:

‘We’re going fishing, Nana and me.
We’re going fishing – what will we see?’

The page turns reveal an ever increasing number of creatures, making this a fun and engaging book to read to children from a young age.

Going Fishing with Nana is stunningly illustrated in bright and bold colours. The endpapers feature a map of north west Australia, showing the scale of exactly how far it is to Nana's.

And if you are wondering whether they caught anything?

‘We went fishing, Nana and me.
We went fishing – look what’s for tea!’

Title: Going Fishing with Nana
Author: Frances and Lindsay Haji-Ali
Illustrator: Karen Briggs
Publisher: Magabala Books
Publication Date: 14 October 2025
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922864048
For ages: 2+
Type: Picture book