Title: The storm whale
Author: Benji Davies
Illustrator: Benji Davies
Genre(s): Adventure
Serie: The storm whale, #1
My rating: 4 stars
Advice age: From approx. 2 years
Pages: 28
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Themes: Friendship, Family, Wild animals, Loneliness
Representation: Single dad
Blurb
Every day, in a house by the sea, a little boy watches his father leave for a long day's work. One night, a great storm washes a small whale onto the beach. The boy discovers the whale is a good listener. The father discovers the boy is lonely. Together, they return the whale to the sea. And from that day on, the boy learns that the father can be a good listener too, in Benji Davies's heartwarming tale, The Storm Whale.
My opinion
🐳First of all, I have to say that I absolutely adore the pictures in this book. There is so much detail in them and they really fit the text that’s next to it. Furthermore, it’s also fun to look for certain things in them, for example the cats. Because finding them can really give you a soft laugh.
🐳Noi lives alone with his dad and I love to see their bond together grow through this little story. How you first realize that Boy feels some loneliness (something that children can definitely feel too) and so he befriends a stranded whale, which makes his father realize that he can be there for Noi more and which makes them spend a lot more time together.
🐳The text is supportive of the images and you can certainly think of more text while reading by just looking at what the pictures tell you without words. However, I would have liked to see mentioned in the text that the father spent more time with Boy, rather than only seeing it in the images.
🐳There are beautiful lessons in this book for example that wild animals belong in their own home. Which also means that this whale is not happy in a bathtub, but is rather in the sea with his own family. You can also certainly discuss the concept of loneliness with children and the fact that not every family looks the same.
🐳I definitely recommend this book to read (with your child, class, family, friends, etc.) only so that you can look at the beautiful images in the book. In addition to that, this story does contain a beautiful, hopeful message and it certainly speaks to the imagination.