My 6 year old daughter LOVES narwhals and was thrilled when Grandma gave her Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea. It is a Will Eisner award winning graphic novel and marks off the “Award Winner” bingo square! The book is made of three stories in which a happy go lucky narwhal and a no nonsense jellyfish learn about friendship, working together, and the power of imagination.
One day a narwhal finds itself in strange waters and encounters a creature it has never seen before, a jellyfish. The jellyfish had never seen a narwhal before and the two aren’t sure if the other is real. While they can’t fully prove their existence, they decide they can be imaginary friends. A jellyfish and narwhal wouldn’t seem to have much in common but these two find they both love waffles, parties, and adventures.
When learning from jellyfish that narwhals are supposed to be in a pod, narwhal sets out to build one. Some funny puns are the result of the pair going around and narwhal asking other sea creatures to join the pod, but a misunderstanding leaves jellyfish feeling left out. When jellyfish speaks up, narwhal is taken by surprise, as from narwhal’s perspective they were building the pod together. Once formed the question comes up over what pods do, “I’m not really sure! But I imagine a pod plays ultimate cannonball, eats waffles, fights crime and has super awesome parties!”
In the last story narwhal shares a favorite book, one with blank pages. The beauty of the book is it can be anything you want it to be. The pair imagine a story of a super hero waffle and side kick strawberry facing off against a giant robot. With the help of a happy sea monkey the trio make the robot laugh, and save the day through friendship.
Cute illustrations, charming stories, and some fun facts have made this an instant classic in our house as both 6 and 10 year old love this book, and the other two Narwhal and Jellyfish books we have.