1274 Human child, Humpback calf
Show Us Where You Live, Humpback
by Beryl Young (text) and Sakika Kikuchi (illustrations)
Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2021
$22.95 / 9781771645737
Reviewed by Elizabeth Bassett
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Beside the bay, a mother and child stand hand-in-hand, the child pointing excitedly toward a kindred duo swimming in the water. “Show us where you live, Humpback,” the child calls, “We see you now with your newborn calf. Here she will grow and learn.”
With a turn of the page, readers are transported underwater. A beautiful full-page illustration shows a mother humpback whale gliding gracefully, flipper extended protectively over her baby. This is where the humpbacks live.
Another page-turn and we are back on land. “This is where I live, my home, where I learn and grow,” the child tells us.
While it may seem as if the human child and whale calf live in entirely different worlds, the picture book’s narrative focuses on similarities. Just as the calf “grows and grows,” the child is “getting big, bigger.” Just as the mother humpback “smacks and smashes” the water, so too does the child. And while the whales send out “siren notes that shrill and curl,” the child joyously sings and shouts: “Everyone can hear me!”
Each page of Show Us Where You Live, Humpback inspires curiosity and wonder akin to that which comes along with real-life whale sightings. Beryl Young’s text describes humpback whales in an imaginative way that is sure to speak to young readers. Those who have never seen humpback whales before will be thrilled to know that they can be “as big as a school bus,” or that they can go “soaring into the air” like a “seabird.” Young also weaves specific terminology into the lyrical narrative, helping readers to learn that whale tail fins are called “flukes,” and that a whale’s jump is called a “breach.” For those who want to learn more about these awe-inspiring animals, the picture book ends with an “About Humpback Whales” section.
At the same time as it is informative, Show Us Where You Live, Humpback is perfect for bedtime reading. The repetition in Young’s narrative (“Let us see you splash, Humpback,” “Show us how your calf sleeps, Humpback”) creates a calming tone, similar to listening to the ebb and flow of waves. Sakika Kikuchi’s watercolour illustrations complement this tone perfectly. The pictures are serene, gracefully transporting readers from land to the ocean and then back again.
Kikuchi’s illustrations also emphasize the connections between humans and whales, sometimes zooming out so that both mother-child duos can be depicted in a single image of sea and land. The effect: readers are reminded that, in addition to sharing many behavioural characteristics, humans and whales share one beautiful world.
Show Us Where You Live, Humpback, is a gem of a picture book, intricately constructed so that it can be read for many purposes. Are you looking for a book that can provide an intelligent introduction to whales? Are you looking for a book that can lull children to sleep? Are you looking for a book that can encourage an appreciation for our shared planet Earth? Young and Kikuchi answer each of these calls.
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Elizabeth Bassett is a librarian and archivist from Vancouver Island. She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Victoria (2016), as well as a dual master’s degree in Archival Studies and Library and Information Studies from the University of British Columbia (2021). Her research interests focus on the study of literary archives, personal archives, and children’s literature. Editor’s note: Elizabeth Bassett has also reviewed a book by Bonnie Sherr Klein & Élisabeth Eudes-Pascal for The Ormsby Review.
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