Whale

From the cover, a reader might expect this book to be non-fiction, but there is no doubt it is a story once the cover is opened and the endpaper revealed. A charming, stylised seaside town crouches on the shoreline, snuggling beneath tall black cliffs. It is peopled with rather stiff, strangely dressed folk, in a style Lucas used in his previous picture book, Halibut Jackson. In the foreground is a boy holding an owl on his arm. And on the horizon is a whale. Barooom! Disaster strikes, as Joe’s house violently shakes, tipping him out of bed. He and feisty Grandma, armed with brolly and Going Out Hat, join others, clambering up the monstrous sides of the enormous Whale, now beached amongst a jumble of the town’s toppled houses. What a problem. The outcome is quite delightful, involving every kind of sea creature working together to re-build the town. The author/illustrator’s style is witty and original, with the balance varying throughout between text and illustration. The colours are bright and appealing, and there is much to catch the eye on each page.