Have You Ever Heard a Whale Exhale?

This book explores the sensory aspects of oceanic life through a series of whimsical questions such as: “Have you ever tasted salty herring roe? / Very yummy on a seaweed plate to go!” The spread depicts two humpback whales enjoying caviar at a fine dining restaurant under the sea.

Each of the fourteen two-page spreads has rhyming prose that ask a zany question and sometimes provide a whimsical answer. The illustrations dovetail the text in their form and eccentricity. Readers see a seal with a monocle, an octopus dosey doeing with four human partners, and an operatic diva seagull on various spreads. These are some spreads that do not depict an oceanic theme: one features bald-headed eagles soaring above a pine forest, and the other is a camping scene of humans and a dog around a campfire, with a tent in the middle of a pine forest. The last spread depicts a shooting star over a body of water. The text reads: “Have you ever thank a falling star? / For all the things that make YOU who you are?”

This book is a whimsical rhyming read-aloud book for younger readers that fosters curiosity and preservation of nature, especially marine life.