The Tale of the Whale - Hardcover

Swann, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1534493948 ISBN 13: 9781534493940

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2022

Synopsis

A child and a whale embark on a beautiful journey together in this lyrical, gorgeously illustrated picture book about friendship, hope, and love for the world around us in the vein of The Fisherman & the Whale and Cynthia Rylant’s Life.

Where land becomes sky and sky becomes sea, I first saw the whale and the whale first saw me.

A child joins a friendly whale for a magical journey of discovery. They sail the blue ocean, dance with dolphins, and tail-splash seagulls. But the child also sees an ocean filled with plastic trash. And that inspires a promise of help, for the whale and all earth’s creatures.

About this title

About the Author

Karen Swann grew up in the United Kingdom and trained as a physiotherapist. She now lives with her family in Nottingham and is a keen rock climber. Visit her at KarenSwann.com.

Padmacandra grew up in Scotland, lives in Norfolk and graduated from the Cambridge School of Art. She is a Buddhist, poet, and artist. Visit her at Padmacandra.com.

Reviews

K-Gr 2-A brown-skinned girl accepts a whale's invitation for an ocean tour. What starts as a delightful romp through the joys of the ocean, with much laughter and smiling-"We danced with the dolphins that waltzed through the sea"-turns dark as the whale shows the girl all the plastic he ingests while eating and how plastic is harming other ocean dwellers. Galvanized, she promises to tell everyone of the "plastic soup sea" and asks that readers help change this. The lyrical rhyming text deftly takes the story's message from joy to sadness to action. The illustrations are filled with texture and movement indicative of the sea, and the use of inclusive text placement with variety in the spreads echoes that feeling of movement. Padmacandra easily depicts the emotions of the whale and the girl with simple yet effective changes to posture and expressions. There are a few subtle hints depicting that all is not well in the ocean with plastic bottles hidden amongst the ocean's flora; this later becomes a visual focal point of the tale as readers see a plastic-filled ocean and its denizens in grave danger. VERDICT With a compelling message that children will easily understand, this call to action lacks only back matter with specific steps for aiding in the cleanup. Purchase as needed.­Catherine Callegariα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1534493948
• ISBN 13: 9781534493940
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Padmacandra
• Number of pages: 32