A whale of a mistake

PreS-Gr 1--A lyrical take on accepting and moving past one's mistakes. Written in second person voice, the story follows a blue-haired child clad in a blue tunic (described as a "girl" on the dust jacket but otherwise unidentified in appearance). When the little protagonist makes a mistake, the feeling feeds on worry and grows from a small glowing sphere into a giant whale that nearly swallows the child and takes them along for a ride on some rough seas. "You don't know where your mistake is taking you, but you'll have to go along…" Eventually, embracing fear and uncertainty transforms the choppy waves into a tranquil starry expanse. Even the stars fall, however, leading to an even more profound realization that "there's a whole universe of mistakes out there. Somehow, your mistake doesn't seem to big anymore." By the end of the journey, the huge cetacean shrinks, becoming a friendly little whale that swims away, vanishing into the distance. Hobai's ink, watercolor, and acrylic illustrations deftly convey the mood of the story, transitioning from tumultuous dark indigo and purple washes to more tranquil pinks and lighter blues, while the narrating voice feels calm and reassuring throughout the tale. VERDICT Though the metaphor of the whale might confuse the youngest audience, the story lends itself to a discussion about making and dealing with mistakes.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University

A small child wrestles with the mental aftermath of a mistake.The mistake (never depicted) starts off small, but it feeds on worry, and soon it has ballooned into a gigantic mistake in the form of a blue whale. The mistake becomes a constant and persistent companion despite all efforts to escape it. The journey the mistake takes the child on is rough, but eventually a look up into the night sky reveals that even the stars aren't perfect. Some are falling. Knowing the universe is full of mistakes provides perspective, allowing the child's own mistake to shrink to a manageable size until it swims off with a wave of its tail. Through this metaphor, the text describes the internal distress experienced when looking back on a mistake. Both the narrator and the protagonistneither namedseem to speak directly to readers, encouraging self-reflection. The absence of pronouns further allows readers to insert themselves into the shoes of the fuzzy-haired protagonist, who sports a simple blue tunic. Awash in sunset pink, blue, and purple, the watery illustrations highlight the movement of the world around protagonist and mistake. Occasionally, the painted colors are muddy and the compositions rather trite; however, the brevity of the text keeps the story moving forward.A simple story to open a discussion on how to learn from and process mistakes, be they minnow- or whale-sized. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.