The Boy and the Whale
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A boy and his father discover a whale tangled in their only fishing net. Is the whale dead? While the man worries about losing their net, the boy worries about the whale. He remembers the fear he felt when, caught in a net himself in childhood, he almost drowned before being rescued by his father. When the whale blinks an enormous eye, the boy knows that he has to try to save the creature, no matter how dangerous doing so may be.
Expressive and perfectly paced, this powerful story, The Boy and the Whale, by Caldecott Medal–winner Mordicai Gerstein was inspired in part by a real-life video of a whale’s rescue, and the creature’s joyful dance through the waves after being freed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A number of online videos show humans freeing whales tangled in ropes and nets; Gerstein acknowledges these as the inspiration for this story. Abelardo, the brown-skinned, shaggy-haired boy who narrates, is the son of a fisherman and lives by the ocean. One morning he spots a large mass in the bay. A whale is entangled in their only fishing net. It looks dead. His father is distraught: "He cursed the whale with words I'd never heard him say." Gerstein (The Sleeping Gypsy) paints father and son approaching the captive whale in their panga: "I had never been so close to an animal so huge." The story of how the boy discovers that the great creature is still alive, and gathers the courage to save it, will thrill readers. Gerstein writes with short, strong words, full of heart. Watery turquoise panels, including a dramatic vertical spread, emphasize the whale's size and the danger the boy faces. The boy disobeys his father to save a creature that cannot speak, and Gerstein paints the story in a way that allows readers to feel that they're part of the action. Ages 4 7.
