The Whale

by Cynthia Rylant, Preston McDaniels (Illustrator)

Overview

Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant brings the peaceful sounds, sights, and characters of the coast vividly to life in the second book of the Lighthouse Family series, in which the family helps reunite a baby beluga whale with its mother.

Pandora, Seabold, Whistler, Lila, and Tiny have all been enjoying the love and comfort that being a family brings. It is a comfort they are unexpectedly reminded of when Whistler and Lila hear the cries of a lonely baby beluga whale named Sebastian. When they learn that he has lost his mama, the Lighthouse Family, with the help of a cranky but noble old cormorant named Huck, does all it can to bring Sebastian and his mother together again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780689848834
Publisher:	Beach Lane Books
Publication date:	09/01/2004
Series:	Lighthouse Family , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	160,172
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Cynthia Rylant is the author of more than 100 books for young people, including the beloved Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball, Brownie & Pearl, Motor Mouse, and Mr. Putter & Tabby series. Her novel Missing May received the Newbery Medal. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Preston McDaniels is the illustrator of the Phineas L. MacGuire series and Cynthia Rylant’s Lighthouse Family series. He lives in Aurora, Nebraska, with his wife and two daughters.

Table of Contents

Contents

1. The Family

2. The Whale

3. Some Help

4. Some Company

5. The Mother

6. A Friend Forever

Editorial Reviews

In The Whale, the second book in the Lighthouse Family series by Cynthia Rylant, with sepia-toned graphite illustrations by Preston McDaniels, the young mice Whistler and Lila come across a baby beluga whale who has lost his mother. They enlist the help of a cranky old cormorant named Huck to find the whale's mother in this sequel to The Storm, which PW called "a sweet, sea-inspired tale... [that] will keep readers turning the pages." Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-4-The Lighthouse family consists of Pandora, the cat; Seabold, the dog; and their adopted mice children, Whistler, Lila, and baby Tiny. In this adventure, Whistler and Lila help to reunite a baby beluga whale with his mother. While the characterizations are first rate and the sense of family harmony is stressed, the story is a bit thin and some of the dialogue seems strained. To help the tiny mice with the rescue, Rylant introduces Huck, the cormorant-"a soggy old bird" with a bad attitude. McDaniels's wonderful black-and-white graphite drawings capture the personalities of each of the animals. The layout and drawings are old-fashioned without being fussy and add needed drama to a somewhat simplistic story.-Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

"Kindhearted. . . . Reminiscent of the work of Beatrix Potter."

From the Publisher