A Small Blue Whale has one of those covers that makes you say, “Well this looks interesting. Let’s read it.” However, while this is a delightfully nice book nothing “grabbed” me about the text. The illustrations, though, are fun and attractive. They have great color and a tone to them that is pleasant to the eye. These illustrations are realistically abstract. There is no question to what the animal is, but it is far from what the animal should look like.
The story is an old one: a whale is looking for a friend. But it is hard to find one. However, they know that when they do find their special friend it will be worth the wait. In poetic prose, the whale follows a cloud and during their adventures, our whale hero finds sensations and experiences that he feels must be how friendship feels, sounds, even tastes like. When it does find some special friends, they have all those qualities and much much more.
This could be a good bedtime story or a quiet time story. It is possible the older child could read themselves, or with assistance. The action takes place at the end; therefore, the more active child might be a little less than impressed with the slow start to the beginning of the story. I do not see this in a classroom setting, but more as a personal library. It would be an interesting gift for perhaps as a first birthday gift.
Betty Ferry and Lisa Mundorff tried to create the next great classic and unfortunately fell just ever so slightly short of that.