A Small Blue Whale

August 1, 2017

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

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 15, 2017
A picture book about finding friends. A "small blue whale...in a silver sea" is "wishing, wanting, waiting for a friend." As the sun rises, the whale feels the warmth and wonders if this is what friendship feels like. A pink cloud in the sky sprinkles drops of water on him, causing the whale to wonder if this is what friendship tastes like. Other senses are engaged as the story progresses. Ferry's smooth text glistens with alliteration and circularity, but the sweet story is just that--one-note sweet. In both illustrations and text, the whale is always pleasant, even when, due to an ill-considered decision (but done in the name of friendship), he ends up stuck on the ice until a troupe of shovel-wielding penguins rescues him. The not-unexpected ending neatly affirms that the whale has found friends and that it was worth the wait. Mundorff's illustrations, looking somewhat like Eric Carle's tissue-paper collages, have a serene feel, and her color palette stays on the cool side, so the overall effect is tranquil but rather detached. Readers may wish for a bit more personality in either the text or the illustrations--a little salt to contrast all that sweetness. Then again, maybe sweet these days is just fine too. Amiable but with no surprises, this story about finding friendship makes for a pleasant if not particularly memorable read-aloud. (Picture book. 2-6)

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