The whale, the sea and the stars
(Book)

PreS-Gr 1--A young whale searches the oceans to find her true home. Gerda and her brother Lars live contentedly with their parents, leaping, splashing and swimming together. One day when Gerda is old enough she sets out on her own to see the world and find her true home, buoyed by her mother's song that tells her to "follow her heart." She journeys across the world, meeting all sorts of creatures on the way, until she finally discovers a place that makes her heart sing; a home where she can live happily forever. The detailed digital illustrations are overlaid with natural textures to create beautiful magical scenes on every page. The play of light in the artwork is captivating, seen in the pink and golden glow of a sunrise or as incandescent beams illuminate an icy cave deep underwater. The author uses Gerda's conversations with other creatures to move the story forward, with Gerda asking for help and learning from everyone she meets along her journey. Some of the creatures that she encounters are allegorical cautions against gossip, greed, and frivolity, while others simply help her find her way. Throughout, the story lines from the "old whale song" that Gerda's mother sang remind her to keep searching and offer encouragement whenever she falters. VERDICT Idyllic and soothing, this is a perfect choice for an older storytime or for one-on-one bedtime sharing.--Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library

Home and away with Gerda the whale.While many children's books follow a home-away-home structure, this story begins with Gerda and her brother, Lars, home in the ocean with their parents, and it concludes with the siblings in a new home, away from where they began. Lars, as the elder sibling, leaves first, and Gerda departs after memorizing "an old whale song" her mother sings. It begins, "Little one, you are born of the stars and the sea," and concludes, "Trust your heart: it will sing when you find your true home." The four-stanza song is rather long and representative of the text-heavy book, originally written in Czech by Kavecky after a story idea by Macho. The pacing drags as Gerda interacts with one marine animal after another on her journey, with the final page belatedly arriving on the back pastedown endpaper. Before reaching this inelegantly designed conclusion, a plot point undermines the central message of following one's heart to find happiness when a wise narwhal gives Gerda the same advice he'd given to another young whale and tells her to go to "warmer waters, then east." Gerda takes this external direction and finds Lars in a "beautiful bay" with many other whales. The digital illustrations, while pleasing to the eye, with rounded forms and rich color, are redundant of the belabored text.Won't make a splash. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1—A young whale searches the oceans to find her true home. Gerda and her brother Lars live contentedly with their parents, leaping, splashing and swimming together. One day when Gerda is old enough she sets out on her own to see the world and find her true home, buoyed by her mother's song that tells her to "follow her heart." She journeys across the world, meeting all sorts of creatures on the way, until she finally discovers a place that makes her heart sing; a home where she can live happily forever. The detailed digital illustrations are overlaid with natural textures to create beautiful magical scenes on every page. The play of light in the artwork is captivating, seen in the pink and golden glow of a sunrise or as incandescent beams illuminate an icy cave deep underwater. The author uses Gerda's conversations with other creatures to move the story forward, with Gerda asking for help and learning from everyone she meets along her journey. Some of the creatures that she encounters are allegorical cautions against gossip, greed, and frivolity, while others simply help her find her way. Throughout, the story lines from the "old whale song" that Gerda's mother sang remind her to keep searching and offer encouragement whenever she falters. VERDICT Idyllic and soothing, this is a perfect choice for an older storytime or for one-on-one bedtime sharing.—Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library