Review by Booklist Review
Lanan's wordless picture book shows how debris left in the ocean by careless humans can jeopardize marine life. A fisherman and his son are on their boat hauling in a net filled with silvery fish when the boy notices something strange sticking out of the water in the distance. When their boat nears the object, they realize it is the head of a whale that is in distress, rendered immobile by discarded fishing lines and nets from another boat. After freeing the huge mammal, the duo gets a surprise visit and an acknowledgement of gratitude. Watercolor and gouache illustrations, mainly in blue, gray, and brown, deftly reveal perspectives from above and below the surface. One moving double spread shows the man's eye with the whale reflected in it and the whale's eye mirroring the man and boy. An author's note informs readers about the profound environmental damage humans are causing to the ocean and the author's hope that children will become aware and take an interest in caring for this natural resource and the life it contains.--Maryann Owen Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lanan (Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet) tells her wordless tale in strong, confident watercolors. A small fishing boat bobs on gray waves as a man and a boy empty a net full of fish. Below them, a humpback whale gets tangled in the creel lines. A striking vertical spread shows the animal immobilized and helpless, the water dark and deep beneath it. Back on the boat, the boy spots the whale and persuades the captain to act. The boat approaches the animal, and Lanan stops the action with two poignant close-ups that underline their shared creatureliness: one shows the captain's eye, which carries a reflection of the entangled whale; the other shows the whale's eye reflecting tiny images of the humans. The father dives to set the whale free, and the whale repays his rescue with a spectacular display. Lanan's cinematic storytelling pace never flags. She distills the global problem of sea life trapped by nets into a tightly focused narrative in which those who caused the damage are able to save the animal they hurt-a rescue that kids will imagine carrying out themselves (though an author's note warns them not to try dangerous dives). Ages 4-8. Agent: Ed Maxwell, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In this wonderfully illustrated imaginative tale, a father and son take their fishing boat out to sea. After a long day of fishing, the boy notices a distressed whale in the distance and although the father is eager to get home, the boy insists that they investigate. Upon approaching, they see that the whale is tangled up in fishing lines. In a dramatic rescue, the father frees the magnificent creature by cutting through the knotted lines with his knife. The day's events are wordlessly and beautifully conveyed in watercolor and gouache. The vastness and tranquility of the sea are portrayed in rich blue hues. Different perspectives are used to show life above and beneath the ocean's surface. While the little boat floats on the sea's surface, whales are seen swimming below. On one spread the focus narrows to show close-up reflections in the eyes of both the whale and the man as they observe each other. The sky shifts from gray to yellow as the day progresses, ending with a stunning sunset at the story's joyful conclusion. The author's note adds a helpful context to this fantasy. VERDICT This impressive and eloquent tale is recommended for all picture book collections.-Gaye Hinchliff, King County Library System, WA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this dramatic wordless tale, a commercial fisherman and what appears to be his son collect fish in the large net thrown from their boat. They sail onthat is, until the boy notices their fishing lines have entangled a whale. At the boys urgingthe gestures between the boy and man give the story a nail-biting momentumthe father dives into the ocean to free the creature. Lanans watercolor and gouache paintings are expansive and cinematic as she takes readers under the water; gives us aerial views; and, in a moment of profound connection just before the man frees the whale, paints on the verso the pupil of the mans eye reflecting the whale and, on the recto, the pupil of the whales eye reflecting the two humans. While there is occasional spot art, most spreads are full-bleed and place readers right at the center of the action. Three vertically oriented spreads are put to effective use: we see the whale fully entangled and giving up; then later the father freeing the whale; and the whale swimming free. In one jubilant spread at the books close, the whale leaps from the water next to the boat while father and son raise their hands in elation. An afterword provides more information on whale entanglement, with the author stressing broader issues of human-led environmental damage. She also notes the dangers of people in reality freeing whales on their own and asks readers to look upon her story as more of a fable. However its defined, its a compelling tale worth sharing. julie Danielson (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Lanan's wordless narrative pulls viewers right into the choppy waves of her gouache-and-watercolor world as a man and a pre-adolescent kid haul fish-laden nets into their boat. Their shared light skin tone and reddish-brown hair signal a familial relationship. As the day winds down, the child notices what readers have been observing: A whale is entangled in underwater lines connected to traps for shellfish. While the father would prefer to depart, the child insists that they help the animal. Lanan employs a variety of perspectives and page designs to build suspense and maintain interest. Circular compositions depicting the tilting vessel on white backgroundsas if glimpsed through a telescopeare balanced on either side of the gutter. These give way to double-page spreads of the blue ocean depths that bleed off the page. Action is observed from the air, underwater, and at middle range, with a front seat to the rescue above and below the surface. At times the book must be turned vertically to grasp the scale of the operation. Endpapers provide a satisfying symmetry related to featured characters. In a concluding note, the author asks readers to "suspend your disbelief and read this story as a fable rather than a literal guide." She explains some liberties taken in service of layout and cautions the audience against attempting such a response. Her failure to specifically locate her "fable" or to represent realistic maritime trafficthere's only ever the one boatmay leave coastal readers unmoored.This compelling fictional introduction raises awareness and empathy for a very real environmental problem. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
