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Summary
Summary
A boy and his father discover a whale tangled in their only fishing net. Is the whale dead? While the man worries about losing their net, the boy worries about the whale. He remembers the fear he felt when, caught in a net himself in childhood, he almost drowned before being rescued by his father. When the whale blinks an enormous eye, the boy knows that he has to try to save the creature, no matter how dangerous doing so may be.
Expressive and perfectly paced, this powerful story, The Boy and the Whale , by Caldecott Medal-winner Mordicai Gerstein was inspired in part by a real-life video of a whale's rescue, and the creature's joyful dance through the waves after being freed.
Author Notes
Mordicai Gerstein was born in Los Angeles, California in 1935. He attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California. He designed and directed animated films for twenty-five years. In 1970, he met author Elizabeth Levy, who asked him to illustrate her children's book Something Queer Is Going On. He has illustrated all of the books in her Something Queer series. He decided to try his hand at writing. His first picture book, Arnold of the Ducks, was published in 1980 and adapted into an animated film. He has also retold many ancient religious stories, such as that of Jonah in his book, Jonah and the Two Great Fish. He has won many awards including 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards from the International Film and Television Festival of New York.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-5-As the sun rises, a boy sees something big out in the sea-a whale. The boy Abelardo and his fisherman father ride their panga out to the whale who is caught in their fishing net. Pragmatic Papa is concerned about his net, but his son wants to save the whale. Back on shore, the boy's conscience tells him he must at least try to help the animal. He rides the panga back. He dives and cuts the net, dives and cuts, until the whale finally breaks free, reveling with joy. When Abelardo returns to shore his father awaits, hands on hips. With a hug, Papa commends his boy for following his heart to do something foolish yet brave. The first-person narrative balances action and dialogue that are both casual and filled with a gentle gravity. Gerstein's storytelling is simple yet effective. The story provides readers with the right amount of information, allowing them to easily understand the subtleties under the surface of Abelardo's relationship with his father. The mixed-media illustrations are dominated by ocean blues, creamy sun-dappled yellows, and the dignified dark gray whale. Gerstein explores light and shadow in the atmospheric and detailed images grounded in strong compositions and beautiful line work. The specific location remains unnamed; however Abelardo's Spanish name, the characters' brown skin, and the coastal setting point to a Latin American locale. According to the publisher's website, this story was inspired by a real-life video of a whale's rescue. VERDICT This beautifully illustrated story with universal themes is a definite first purchase for libraries.-Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A number of online videos show humans freeing whales tangled in ropes and nets; Gerstein acknowledges these as the inspiration for this story. Abelardo, the brown-skinned, shaggy-haired boy who narrates, is the son of a fisherman and lives by the ocean. One morning he spots a large mass in the bay. A whale is entangled in their only fishing net. It looks dead. His father is distraught: "He cursed the whale with words I'd never heard him say." Gerstein (The Sleeping Gypsy) paints father and son approaching the captive whale in their panga: "I had never been so close to an animal so huge." The story of how the boy discovers that the great creature is still alive, and gathers the courage to save it, will thrill readers. Gerstein writes with short, strong words, full of heart. Watery turquoise panels, including a dramatic vertical spread, emphasize the whale's size and the danger the boy faces. The boy disobeys his father to save a creature that cannot speak, and Gerstein paints the story in a way that allows readers to feel that they're part of the action. Ages 4-7. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A boy defies his father's warning and rescues a whale tangled in their sole fishing net.The story opens with two clear viewpoints. Papa is distressed their only source of income is in jeopardy; Abelardo is very concerned for the whale's survival. He remembers a time when he had been trapped in a net and almost drowned before his father saved him. Papa leaves to borrow another net, and Abelardo, alone on the beach, takes their outboard-equipped panga out to the ensnared whale, dives in, and bravely works with a small knife to cut the tough plastic netting, finally freeing the animal. The boy's daring determination and his emotional and physical struggles are evident in the succinct, first-person narrative, which builds urgency, fear, and suspense to a one-word crescendo"BREATHE!"when Abelardo and whale must surface to do so. Realistic pen-and-ink-and-acrylic paintings alternate between sunny, glimmering sea and beach scenes and dark underwater scenes done in aquas and grays. The drama is vividly shown, paralleling the boy's passion with the whale's defeated resignation in a double-page image of the boy's grim face next to and as large as the gray whale's sad eye. The inspiring, humane adventure joyfully concludes with Gerstein's pinnacle scenes of the whale breaching joyfully. A Latin American coastal setting is indicated with naming conventions; Abelardo and his father have brown skin and straight, black hair. Bravo for a courageous boy's achievement. (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Abelardo and his father make their living fishing, and their net is indispensable. When the child notices a whale tangled in their net, he and his father investigate. The man thinks practically: how will they make a living without a net? The boy thinks empathically: how can they save the creature? Abelardo defies his parent's order and boats out to see if he can help. When the huge mammal looks into the boy's eyes, a connection is forged, and the boy attempts the dangerous task of cutting away the net. The gray of the whale is repeated in the netting and a nearby rocky island. Ribbons of various colors in the wide-open sky blue, green, teal are reflected in the vast ocean. When the whale makes its first joyful vertical leap out of the sea, fins flared out at his side, the child's posture is virtually identical, and their joint elation is exhilarating. Gerstein has captured an extraordinary connection between the natural and human worlds that will be long remembered after the last page is turned.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2017 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
WHILE SOME SEA STORIES are mainly good for a pirate-? thrill, others take young readers a bit deeper. The vast scope and power of the high seas makes the world's oceans a dramatic setting for stories for those just getting their sea-legs as thoughtful, feeling, capable humans. Four new picture books leave dry land behind to reflect on the rewards and perils of friendship, empathy, courage and more. The stakes are high in Mordicai Gerstein's "The Boy and The Whale," a tautly constructed narrative about a fisherman's son who wishes to free a whale from the net his father depends on for his livelihood. As the story unfolds, Gerstein, winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal for "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," leaves readers in suspense as to whether the whale can in fact be saved, whether the task is too much for a child, and whether sparing an animal's life is worth risking the family's economic survival. In the moral logic of the tale, pragmatic considerations cannot be ignored, but empathy for the suffering takes precedence. Gerstein cinches the case in a scene in which the boy, a nimble diver, comes eye to eye with the captive creature and decides that along with the whale's life his own humanity hangs in the balance. Gerstein draws in a fluid, unfussy penline with overlays of watercolor that wash each scene in a warmly articulated light. He neither names his characters nor identifies their ethnic or national background, wisely so in a story whose underlying dilemma might present itself-whale or no whale-to anyone anywhere. Readers who like their sea sagas with a splash of humor may prefer "The Only Fish in the Sea." When a cartoonish-ly crabby girl named Little Amy Scott hurls an unwanted goldfish from a pier, two indignant friends lay plans for a rescue mission. It is this story's attractive premise- as it is that of children's own make-believe fantasies-that feats of heroism as grand as the one Sadie and Sherman contemplate are well within their grasp. Sure enough, clever Sadie, with easy-going Sherman at her side, knows exactly how to fit out a longboat, assemble a crew of smartly attired sailor-chimps, and make for open waters. As the details of their helter-skelter adventure unspool in Matthew Cordell's frizzy, pert, deadpan drawings, Philip C. Stead, whose tonally adroit knack for comedic dialog recalls Charles Schulz's, lets readers eavesdrop on snippets of the onboard conversation. When sweet, uncomplicated Sherman asks what's next for the goldfish-not if but when they succeed in finding him-Sadie responds by waxing eloquent on the proper care and feeding of those we love. She ends with a few choice words about Little Amy Scott, the cause of all their troubles, and let's just say: no happy-birthday wishes for her. "The Antlered Ship" aims for a dreamier, artier style of sea-faring fantasy. It features a splendid age-of-sail tall ship sporting an impressive antler-themed prow, and a surreal all-animal crew captained by a doe named Sylvia. In port, other creatures sign on as crewmembers, including some venturesome pigeons and a philosopher fox named Marco who is seeking answers to life's big questions, or rather to pretty big ones like, "Why don't trees ever talk?" and "Why is water so wet?" Oh dear-or perhaps, oh deer! As the ship and narrative drift in tandem, readers can only pray that Marco will not redirect his musings to more mundane matters, such as the odds of enjoying a pigeon repast. The illustrations by the brothers Terry and Eric Fan are breathtakingly good. The Fans have an exquisite command of atmosphere and the ability as draftsmen to conjure up a fully realized world-even when, as here, they're starting from a generically written prose text that loses its way in the intriguing scenario it first set in motion. More down to earth is "Robinson," a dream adventure propelled by a schoolchild's decision to attend a costume party dressed as his favorite storybook hero, Robinson Crusoe. Things go badly wrong when young Peter's schoolmates mercilessly mock the elaborate faux-fur costume his mother prepared for him. Surely it would have been better to go in standard-issue pirate gear, as Peter knew the others were all planning to do. Or not: with a gentle nudge from his mother, he opted instead to make a more personal statement, and is repaid for his efforts with a jolt of group rejection that leaves him feeling as alone as any shipwrecked traveler on a desert island. What began as a parent's well-meaning intervention in her child's social affairs morphs for Peter into a developmental flash point. Thrning feverish, the shaken boy escapes into a dream that in some respects mimics Crusoe's island exile (although happily not the part about Friday!). In this dream, Peter forages for food, makes his own clothing and shelter, and keeps an eye out for pesky pirates. Readers can see that on awakening Peter is more his own person than before, and is ready to re-connect on his own terms with school chums who, as children do, have also moved on and are keen for his company. Peter Sis, who grew up in Soviet-Bloc Czechoslovakia and has lived in the United States since 1982, has made a specialty of chronicling the lives of maverick outsiders from Galileo to Darwin. He first told bits and pieces of his own coming-of-age story in "The Wall," but the autobiographical "Robinson" is a more intimate, child's-eye view of a schoolboy's struggles to navigate the treacherous crosscurrents of self and society. It is hard not to feel for this child. In his illustrations for "Robinson," Sis reprises long-time favorite graphic maneuvers-arresting bird's eye perspectives, imaginary landscapes that double as maps of themselves-while also showing a new interest in color that mirrors the story's heightened emotional urgency. Growing up, these evocative images imply, can feel a lot like being lost at sea, but the imagination is a good map to steer by. LEONARDS. MARCUS'S most recent book is "Golden Legacy: The Story of Golden Books."