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  • If You Want to See a Whale by Julie Fogliano
  • Deborah Stevenson
Fogliano, Julie . If You Want to See a Whale; illus. by Erin E. Stead. Porter/Roaring Brook, 2013. 32p. ISBN 978-1-59643-731-9 $16.99 R 5-8 yrs.

The author/illustrator team from And Then It's Spring (BCCB 3/12) returns with another lyrical take on the natural world. Here's what you'll need if you want to see a whale: "A window and an ocean," of course, but also "time for waiting and time for looking and time for wondering 'is that a whale?'" You also should resist distractions ("You shouldn't watch the clouds . . . because if you start to look straight up you might just miss a whale"), but eventually, your patience may be rewarded. Whale-watching is a much rarer experience than watching seeds sprout, and this is airier than the last title, with a greater emphasis on fantasy and imagination. Fogliano's text is prettily musing and even lulling, and there's an effective balance between smooth, tranquil pacing and well-conveyed specifics ("Be careful not to notice something inching, small and green across the leaf "). Stead populates the scenes with a cast similar to (though not the same as) that in the prior title: a red-headed boy, a droopy-eared hound, and an inquisitive shorebird, as well as the eventual very fine whale, all created with her eyelash-fine pencil linework; the open sea and coastline are particularly suited to her dappled woodblock colors in gentle shades and occasional delicate-lined sailing ship. Her work is often a study in composition, with horizon lines recurring like a chorus, counterpointed with subtle or strong diagonals and swoops. The whale itself is legitimately humongous yet also clearly wise and benign, politely presenting itself to the presumably well-pleased whale searchers. This could be an inducement to some imaginary eyes-shut travel, or just an offbeat choice for sending kids off to dreamland.

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