Welcome Home, Whales
Welcome Home, Whales
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2021--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Consortium
Annotation: In beautiful and soulful imagery, a whale visits a young child and tells him the story of her return home.
Genre: [Animal fiction]
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #256984
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Consortium
Copyright Date: 2021
Edition Date: 2021 Release Date: 04/06/21
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: 1-7331-2128-5
ISBN 13: 978-1-7331-2128-6
Dewey: E
LCCN: 2021010852
Dimensions: 29 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)

A young boy listens telepathically as a right whale reveals her story. Sometimes she is sad, other times joyful, but the boy is enthralled by everything he hears. He empathizes with her fears but is unable to make things better. Then one winter morning, she appears near the shore calling gently, this time not to the boy but to her newborn calf. Booth's gentle tale exudes a dreamy feel, with lyrical language well suited to the story's reflective mood, which dominates most specifics concerning this species' endangered status. Mixed-media illustrations nd-painted watercolor, gouache, pencil, and ink mplement the story's magical feel and excel when they depict this enormous creature dwarfing humans and boats nearby. Much of the art uses green tones, accented in black and white for the whale. Originally published in Australia, this edition includes an afterword that offers additional information about this species and suggestions for protecting it. This will work for one-on-one sharing or for science and ecology units.

Kirkus Reviews

A child hears the far-off song of a right whale.It seems to be a dream at first, because no one else can hear it. It is a haunting sound that grows a bit closer each day, sometimes joyful but more often mournful and sad. The sounds become a saga of the whale's darkest experiences, or possibly a history of the entire species. After several mornings, the child goes to the beach in the early light and hears the whale plead to know why she was hunted and is now unable to come home. With an aching heart and feeling the creature's pain, this young human can only whisper a soft apology for the deeds of others. The whale heads out to deeper waters, but as more people gather, listening and waiting, she returns with a baby, and this time her call is filled with hope. The child, who presents White, narrates in a tender and gentle tone, addressing readers as companions. The whale's tales are depicted as small, gray drawings of whales, whaling ships, hunters, harpoons, and death, all placed within the more colorful, large-scale illustrations of the whale at sea or child at home or at the shore. Although the whale's species is not named in the text, a double-page spread at the conclusion of the tale provides a great deal of information about right whales. (This is an Australian import, suggesting the whale is a southern right whale.)Beautifully tender, moving, and even hopeful. (Picture book. 6-10)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist (Mon Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2021)
Kirkus Reviews
Reading Level: 2.0
Interest Level: P-2
Lexile: 510L

A boy dreams of a whale's call as she returns to a bay recently restored by conservation efforts to introduce her new calf to the world. Winner of the Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature Booth's ... lyrical prose and cerulean watercolor art swim together like mother and calf: "two voices calling with a story of new beginnings.""-- New York Times Beautifully tender, moving, and even hopeful." -- Kirkus Reviews In a quiet harbor, a young child hears the call of a right whale, the rarest kind of whale. He is the only person in his town to hear the whale's moving song, and he waits by the bay to hear more of her story and shares in her joy and sorrow. At first her story makes the young boy sad, but he is soon filled with hope as she introduces her new calf to the world. Full of dreamy watercolors, Welcome Home, Whales shares the story of a boy who befriends a whale and offers her empathy and understanding. This poignant and optimistic story reveals timely themes of empathy and conservation that will resonate with children concerned about wildlife, the environment, and how they can help make a better world. Welcome Home, Whales eloquently illustrates the issues our younger generations are grappling with today. The book ends with a list of ways kids can help right whales wherever they live. Readers will also enjoy a spread of facts about whale conservation and right whales to explore and discuss with teachers and family, such as: -Whales are mammals, not fish. -Right whales are known for their acrobatics. They love to play. -All right whales are migratory, moving seasonally to feed or give birth. A perfect gift for little conservationists, future marine biologists, and kids who love the sea. Printed on FSC-certified paper with vegetable inks. One percent of all sales of this book will go to the Defenders of Wildlife, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting wildlife in North America.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.