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CM . . . . Volume XXIII Number 33 . . . . May 5, 2017
excerpt:
The story of Whale Child begins in a Pacific Northwest coastal village where, after a volcanic explosion, a little girl becomes separated from her big sister. Lost at sea in a canoe, the little girl is safely guided by a mother grey whale on her way to calving grounds in Mexico. After the mother whale's baby is born, the spirits of the new whale and the little girl unite:
Eventually, the baby whale guides the little girl back to her northern village where Big Sister declares:
The author/illustrator undoubtedly brings a passion to her subject matter. However, Whale Child would have benefitted from more thorough editing, art direction, and attention to book design and organization. The fictional narrative often wavers between points of view, and the main protagonist, the little girl, is a passive character who does not solve anything herself. It is difficult, therefore, to connect how the baby whale can feel strong, happy, determined, and special when she breathes in the little girl's spirit. For some characters, such as Big Sister, it is not always clear how they are essential to the narrative.
Whale Child includes a significant nonfiction section with a focus on grey whale migration and facts. However, it is unclear why some of the illustrations and information boxes (e.g., about cacti, a seahorse, a sailfish, the northern lights) are highlighted. Although these subjects appear in background illustrations in the main spreads, it seems random to choose some of them for the nonfiction section when they are not integral to the fictional narrative. As well, facts are not always logically organized (e.g., the information about grey whales is not all presented sequentially). It is also confusing that facts about a Tufted Puffin are not matched with the correctly illustrated puffin species. Similarly, the puffin image on the front cover is not that of a Tufted Puffin. This slip is surprising, given an earlier book by Simpson by the same publisher also discusses Tufted Puffins but includes the correctly illustrated species. More thorough fact checking and referencing would have leant more credibility to the non-fiction section. Whale Child would have also been a more solid choice for extending classroom learning if it had included an explanation of the First Nations' clothing and designs that are incorporated in the book. Not Recommended. Anita Miettunen is a writer based in Vancouver, BC. She is completing a Master of Arts in Children's Literature at the University of British Columbia. Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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Table of Contents for This Issue
- May 5, 2017. |
Whale Child is another title in a series of "Coastal Spirit Tales" pictures books by author/illustrator Caroll Simpson, whose aim is to "celebrate the art and legends of the First Peoples of the Northwest Coast." Simpson, who is based in northern British Columbia, does not identify herself as Indigenous, although she has a long history of teaching young students about the culture of Pacific Northwest First Nations.
The artwork incorporates a variety of styles and colour palettes, and the spreads are not always composed with a clear focal point. The illustrations also vary in how consistently a character is drawn throughout the spreads. As well, the choice to use a larger, bold font for some words seems inconsistent. The most appealing illustrations appear at the end of the book in the supplementary nonfiction section as these pages incorporate more consistent design and harmony.