A Small Blue Whale - Hardcover

Ferry, Beth; Mundorff, Lisa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1524713376 ISBN 13: 9781524713379

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017

Synopsis

Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box – a children’s subscription that inspires a love of reading.

From New York Times bestselling author Beth Ferry (Stick and Stone) and talented newcomer Lisa Mundorff comes a gorgeous and utterly charming picture book about a lonely blue whale who learns the meaning of friendship.
 
A small blue whale sits in a silver sea . . . wishing, wanting, waiting for a friend. Waiting is hard, but he doesn’t mind; he’s sure a friend will be worth the wait.
 
First, the whale meets a quiet pink cloud, and he thinks this might be the friend he’s been waiting for. But when he finds himself in trouble, a group of penguins comes to his rescue and the small blue whale finally gets his wish.
 
This heartwarming story about friendship—what it looks like, sounds like, tastes like, and feels like—will have readers agreeing that a true friend is definitely worth the wait.

About this title

About the Author

Beth Ferry reads and writes by the beach in New Jersey. She studied English at the College of William and Mary, and her picture books include the New York Times bestseller Stick and Stone, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, Land Shark, and Pirate’s Perfect Pet. Find out more at bethferry.com and on Twitter at @bethferry1.
 
Lisa Mundorff is a Portland-based artist whose illustrations have appeared in magazines, advertising, books, and more. She is a graduate of the Pacific Northwest College of Art, where she majored in illustration. Lisa was awarded the Grand Prize at the SCBWI Western Washington Portfolio Show and is also a winner of the Tomie dePaola Award for picture-book illustration. Find out more about her at LisaMundorff.com.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1—A small blue whale is alone in a vast sea and wishes and waits for a friend. He wonders what friendship might look like...feel like...taste like...sound like? What do friends do? Do they travel together, count stars or raindrops? The whale hears penguins playing and tries to join in, but eventually strands himself on the ice. Friendship comes in the form of hundreds of penguin friends who come to his rescue. The art is the strength of this book, with a succession of digitalized, watery painted scenes that impress upon readers the depth of water, the changing nature of the clouds, filtered light, the size and solitude of the whale, the immediacy of multitudes of friendly faces, and a "flurry of frozen confetti" in celebration from the clouds. Text includes descriptive vocabulary for growing learners—"a glint of gold," an "inkling of orange," and "radiant ribbons of red," as the whale "basked" in the sun. A light palette contrasting with the black and white of penguins emphasizes the whale's new friends. VERDICT A sweet and satisfying offering suggested for general purchase in all libraries; an upbeat read-aloud for young readers learning about friendships and feelings.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

About this edition

• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1524713376
• ISBN 13: 9781524713379
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32