To the Sea

(Hardback)

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Description

Sometimes Tim feels invisible at school-until one day, when Tim meets Sam. But Sam isn't just any new friend: he's a blue whale, and he can't find his way home!

Returning Sam to the sea is hard work, but Tim is determined to help. After all, it's not every day you meet a new friend!

This picture book about the power of friendship by new talent Cale Atkinson is brought to life by charming, dynamic illustrations.

Reviews

Tim finds a whale beached on a street adjacent to his school and vows to help his new friend get back to the sea. The amorphous, sluglike whale, Sam, is simply stuck and as shockingly invisible to others as Tim is. The whale's hugeness captures the heft and burden of Tim's own inexplicable loneliness. Readers first see Tim standing alone in pouring rain, his face obscured by a dripping hoodie and his need for a friend plain. Sam's massive body, a murky emerald green, often entirely fills the page, making him difficult to discern. His round eyes, however, deliver remarkably acute information about his worry and salty homesickness. Tim's earnest promise to get Sam back to the ocean brightens this book of dark double-page spreads, done in deep blues and greens from the very bottom of the sea. Beaming tangerines highlight all the words and people in this friendship tale, buoying every inky illustration. Children will cheer as Tim ties Sam to a rope behind his bike and pulls and pedals and huffs and puffs him all the way to a seaside cliff...and over! A whale's tale that dives deep and surfaces with useful lessons about making, keeping, and helping friends - Kirkus

Author Bio

Cale Atkinson wanted to be a whale when he grew up, but chose to be an artist and animator once he realized it was impossible. This is his first book. Visit Cale online at www.cale.ca or on Twitter @2dCale.