A Symphony of Whales - Hardcover

Schuch, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0152016708 ISBN 13: 9780152016708

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1999

Synopsis

Having the special ability to hear the whales, Glashka is able to tell the villagers of their pending doom when thousands of them become trapped in an inlet that is slowly beginning to freeze over them all.

About this title

About the Authors

STEVE SCHUCH is an award-winning musician and storyteller. He lives in New Hampshire.  

PETER SYLVADA graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. His first picture book, A Symphony of Whales, won the Christopher Medal and was named a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book and a Smithsonian Magazine Notable Book. He lives in Cardiff, California.

Reviews

During the winter of 1984-1985, nearly 3,000 beluga whales were trapped in the Senyavina Strait of Siberia--and saved by the bravery and persistence of villagers and the crew of a passing icebreaker. Schuch, a musician, turns this episode into a picture book by casting a child as heroine. Glashka has always been able to hear music in her head, and the "old ones" of the village tell her she hears "the voice of Narna, the whale. Long has she been a friend to our people." Glashka uses this talent to find the trapped whales and then to discover the secret of saving them. The plotting and diction are a little trumped-up, but on balance the text is tender and moving, and debut illustrator Sylvada's heavy oil paintings readily transport readers to the bitter winter days of Siberia. Emphasizing the changing light and the textures of characters' clothing instead of individual expressions, the illustrations cast a mood that reinforces the sober issues of the text. Ages 6-10. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Grade 2-5-During the bitter winter of 1984-85, the people of the Chukchi Peninsula and the crew of the Russian icebreaker Moskva labored to save thousands of beluga whales trapped by encroaching ice in the Siberian Senyavina Strait. Schuch has taken this event and fleshed it out to include young Glashka, who can hear the voices of these animals in her visionary dreams. As the fearful creatures crowd away from the ship and its fractured path to freedom, it is Glashka who urges the crew to add human music to the whale calls they are broadcasting to reassure and entice the belugas, and to try again as folk music and rock and roll fail. Finally, a classical symphony for strings sounds a chorus that the animals join in, and singing, they follow the huge icebreaker out to the open sea. This fictionalized account is enriched by soft-edged oils in winter tones, picturing the laboring Chukchis, the white whales, the dark bulk of the Moskva, and the small determinedness that is Glashka. Team this inspiring work with Giles Whittell's more factual The Story of Three Whales (Gareth Stevens, 1988; o.p.), Dyan Sheldon's lyrical The Whales' Song (Dial, 1991), and Frances Weller's moving I Wonder If I'll See a Whale (Paperstar, 1998) and you'll have kids clamoring to go whale watching.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Smart, gifted Glashka has always heard unique music in her head, which the elders of her Siberian tribe tell her is the song of the whales that sustain their culture. To be able to hear the music is a rare gift. When Glashka and her family come across a group of Beluga whales trapped in a bay, the village swings into action, keeping the ice open until a Russian ice-breaker can arrive. When the ship finally comes, Glashka suggests drawing the whales back to sea with music. It's a shame that Glashka's specific culture is never identified in the story, although historical source notes cite the Chukchi Peninsula, where the incident on which the story was based occurred. But this is a quiet, powerful story, beautifully extended by Sylvada's paintings of ghostly whale shapes and glowing, fin-shaped skies. In broad strokes and muted colors, they convey the region's extremes of light and temperature, and the blurry distinctions between the landscape and its inhabitants. Gillian Engberg

Edition details

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152016708
• ISBN 13: 9780152016708
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Sylvada Peter
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32