by Shelley Gill
Reviewed by Julie Long
Big Blue is a picture book that is best categorized as realistic fiction. In the story a young girl dreams of swimming with a Blue Whale. She researches and studies the Blue Whale hoping that one day her dream will come true. Her mother is a writer and drives a whale research boat. She brings her along on a trip to study the Blue Whale.The excitement of the young girl is contagious as she waits near the shore, hoping that a Blue Whale will swim by her. The illustrations in the story are very detailed and vividly colored. Through the images the reader is transformed into her dreams and into her reality. Because of the scientific detail and vocabulary, the story will probably be more appropriate for an older audience. It is a great tool to introduce a marine biology unit, a study of animal habitats, or an inquiry project. While they may not comprehend all of the details a younger audience will also enjoy the story. In particular they may enjoy the beautiful images and the excitement the young girl brings to the story. It is a great lesson in pursuing, and never giving up on, your dreams.
1 comment:
I think this book sounds very interesting. I can relate to the book because I have always wanted to swim with dolphins and never had the opportunity. I am actually going to Greece next year and a cruise and I heard you can take excursions and one of the options is swimming with dolphins - needless to say I am super excited about it! I think this book would be a wonderful opportunity to show all children that no dream is imposible. I feel like there are so many students with not-so-great backgrounds and all they need is a little hope and inspiration. I think this book would definately give them hope and inspiration to follow their dreams. I think it also gives them a chance to dream. Many parents don't allow their kids to openly express their dreams and some parents just put their kids down, but by reading this book I think kids will see it is okay to dream - especially if their teacher has a wild dream as well!!
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