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Title: The Whales' Song (Picture Puffins)
ISBN: 0140559973
Author:
Dyan Sheldon
Publicate Date: 1997-04-01
Publish: 1997-04-01
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $3.32
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: A beautiful story about these majestic animals
This story is about the beauty of whales, yet it has aspects that refer back to the economic value that whaling had before the days of petroleum products and over killing. Lilly is a young girl who lives by the ocean and her grandmother is telling her the story of the whales. How peaceful they are and how she would watch them and occasionally even hear them singing to her. Lilly's great-uncle Frederick provides the counterpoint, calling the grandmother's stories about whales silly and pointing out how important they were for meat, bones and blubber to create whale oil for lamps.
Lilly is told that she needed to offer the whales something, so one day she throws a yellow flower into the ocean. After waiting, she gives up and goes home to bed. However, during the night the whales call to her and she goes to the seashore where she sees the whales and hears them saying her name.
Humans know very little about whales, their social structure or even their level of intelligence. Therefore, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that humans could learn a great deal from whales. While that is not the main premise of this book, it does point out that there is much to admire and respect about whales and the role they have in the ecosystem of the world.
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2: Imaginative, Beautiful, Appealing
I love reading this story to children at the Seattle Aquarium, and inserting their names at the pivotal points as the whales call out. This is a vivid story with beautiful illustrations. The story appeals to all young children, and especially little girls, as they relate to the main character. Sheldon introduces some gentle reminders of caring for whales for more than their meat, and then poetically and imaginatively shows us what it means to be friends with the whale. This is a story filled with magical realism, and I highly recommend it for ages 3 through 7.
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3: Beautiful
I bought this book over ten years ago while living in London as a student. Now, married with 3 children, it is a family favorite. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and the story is told in a magical tone. We love to whisper the words on the last page -it always captivates the kids. The part of the story that discusses the purposes of the whale long ago is a bit advanced for small children, but for the older ones it promoted conversation & learning. Buy this book in hardcover to ensure it lasts longer. A WONDERFUL MUST-HAVE for anyone with an imagination!!
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4: Beautiful, loving story, exceptional paintings.
As a homeschooling parent I read this book with my children as we were doing a unit study on sound.Whales have a the ability to make a much higher pitched sound than the human ear can hear. It is their song, or communicating which facinates us. This book offers magnificent and realistic paintings which will delight your eyes as well as your heart. The grandmother tells of the whales, is it real or fantasy? All the while a great uncle so blatently informs the little girl what whales were used for in the past. As we know, whales have much larger brains then ours- who is to say they would not sing for a kind gesture from a loving stranger? This book has found a special place in our home library, I hope it will for you or someone you love as well.
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5: Not my niece's favorite
First, let me say that the illustrations in this book are exquisit. The oil paintings are absolutely fabulous. However, they are a little dark and my niece seems to have a hard time relating to them at times.The story is good, but not excellent. The relationship between the main character and her grandmother is very well drawn. However, the book wavers between real life and the dream world. At the end of the book when the whales call the main character's name, we had to answer questions about whether the girl was going to live with the whales forever because they had called her. This is not a bad book, but a bit too disquieting to become a favorite for us.
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