The Song of the Whales

by Uri Orlev

Overview

Michael’s grandfather has a secret—a secret that’s almost too strange to share . . .

When Michael moves to Israel, he leaves loneliness behind and steps into the light of his grandfather’s magic. Like a sorcerer’s apprentice, Michael learns how to blur the lines between dreams and reality when his grandfather hands down the most precious of gifts—a gift that allows Michael passage into his grandfather’s dreams.

Written with a quiet simplicity that wins the reader over at once Uri Orlev writes in a style so sure and yet so unassuming that it is certain to linger in reader’s minds long after turning the last page.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547488288
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/12/2010
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	248 KB
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Uri Orlev was born in Warsaw in 1931. In 1996, Uri Orlev received the the highest international recognition given to an author of children’s books. He now lives in Jerusalem.

Editorial Reviews

Orlev (Run, Boy, Run) blurs the edges of dream and reality in this story about Michael, a friendless child of self-absorbed parents, who “[doesn't] like sports or computer games,” preferring the company of his Plasticine figures and the old men in his neighborhood. When his family moves to Israel, Mikha'el (as he's known there) forges a strong bond with his ailing grandfather, who takes him into his dreams. The two share surreal nocturnal adventures, in which Grandpa “fixes” people's dreams--a gift he passes on to Mikha'el. While Orlev writes with deep empathy for the misfit Mikha'el and his relationship with his dying grandfather, the abrupt shifts from dream to the “really real world” can be jarring and the dreams bizarre. In one nightmare, intended to reform Mikha'el's parents' meat-eating ways (Grandpa is a vegetarian), animals in a restaurant are eager to chow down on Mikha'el's father, who appears as roast beef topped “with side dishes of contracts, account books, and income tax returns.” A strange tale, but a diverting escape, perhaps, to those also at odds with the really real world. Ages 10-up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"It's a gentle fable of community connection; a penetrating look at the darker sides latent in people and the mutability of different kinds of love; and a heart-tugging tale about passing the generational torch from grandfather to grandson. With a clean sense that less is more, Orlev has crafted a sweetly mysterious and quietly moving read."—Booklist, starred review

"Orlev (Run, Boy, Run) blurs the edges of dream and reality in this story about Michael, a friendless child of self-absorbed parents, who "[doesn't] like sports or computer games," preferring the company of his Plasticine figures and the old men in his neighborhood. When his family moves to Israel, Mikha'el (as he's known there) forges a strong bond with his ailing grandfather, who takes him into his dreams...A strange tale, but a diverting escape, perhaps, to those also at odds with the really real world."—Publishers Weekly
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From the Publisher

Gr 4–6—Michael, 11, has never taken an interest in children his own age. Although he is certainly different, he is not necessarily lonely. He has befriended the old men in his neighborhood who share his interests—a jeweler, a bookbinder, and a junk dealer. When he moves from New York to Jerusalem with his less-than-attentive parents, this pattern continues as Mikha'el, as he is now called, develops a wonderful relationship with his grandfather, a former antiques dealer. Like his grown-up friends in the States, his grandfather pays close attention to details and the souls of things and people. As the two grow closer, his grandfather shares a very special gift with the boy, the ability to take him into his dreams. The two have all sorts of adventures in their sleep, although not all of the dreams are good ones and ultimately Mikha'el is being gently eased into accepting what life will be like after his grandfather is gone. This book is truly a work of art. The subtlety with which Orlev writes is absolutely mesmerizing. He draws readers in, thinking that they are back in the "really real world" until suddenly they realize that they are not at all, and instead are immersed in another incredible dream sequence with Grandpa and Mikha'el. There are additional plot elements involving his parents, the housekeeper, and the question of inheritance, but all of that fades away and becomes secondary when Mikha'el enters the old man's dreams.—Kerry Roeder, The Brearley School, New York City

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