Book Review: The Storm Whale by Benji Davies

Book: The Storm Whale
Author: Benji Davies
Illustrator: Benji Davies
Published: 2014
Source: Local Library

Noi is lonely. His dad, a fisherman, leaves him on his lonesome all day long. When he finds a baby whale washed up on shore after a storm, Noi knows he has to work fast. he takes the whale back to his empty house and puts it in the bathtub (it is a very small whale). Now he has a friend, but how long can this last?

I admit, I had to read this book a few times to really get it. At first, I was indignant that the whale was simply released back to the sea and Noi’s loneliness wasn’t addressed. Then on the second read-through, I realized that the illustrations had taken up that part of the story. While the text simply tells us that Noi looks forward to seeing his whale-friend again, you see a companionable, midday father-son picnic - and far out to sea, two whale flukes, one large and one small.

A quiet and sweet meditation on fathers and sons.