The Boy and the Whale - Tapa dura

"A tautly constructed narrative about a fisherman's son who wishes to free a whale from the net his father depends on for his livelihood." --New York Times Book Review

"[An] inspiring, humane adventure... Bravo for a courageous boy's achievement."--Kirkus Reviews

"Dazzling."--The Horn Book

"Filled with a gentle gravity... [a] beautifully illustrated story with universal themes."--School Library Journal

"Gerstein has captured an extraordinary connection between the natural and human worlds that will be long remembered after the last page is turned."--Booklist




I Am Pan

"If ever there was a god of fun, here he is . . . no mythtake." -Kirkus, starred review

"Tons of humor, whimsy, and action on every page. An irresistible introduction to the god and to Greek mythology in general." -School Library Journal, starred review

"Laughs come fast and frequently. . . It's every bit the wild and woolly "autobiography" that a chaotic spirit like Pan deserves."-Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Gerstein artfully re-creates not only the finger-in-a-light-socket energy of a spirited child but the way that young kids tell stories: abrupt, arbitrary, and rich with action." -The Horn Book, starred review

A boy and his father discover a whale tangled in their only fishing net. Is the whale dead? While the man worries about losing their net, the boy worries about the whale. He remembers the fear he felt when, caught in a net himself in childhood, he almost drowned before being rescued by his father. When the whale blinks an enormous eye, the boy knows that he has to try to save the creature, no matter how dangerous doing so may be.

Expressive and perfectly paced, this powerful story, The Boy and the Whale, by Caldecott Medal–winner Mordicai Gerstein was inspired in part by a real-life video of a whale’s rescue, and the creature’s joyful dance through the waves after being freed.