Just So Stories

CSIRO Publishing

April 2022

ISBN: 9781486315109

RRP: $22.99

This beautiful book only came my way recently but what perfect timing as I have a little oceanic theme going on, and also it’s whale season for us. Last year I treated myself to a day on the Eyespy our local, much-awarded whale watching company and it was just utterly magnificent. What an experience and also, a fantastic business with great staff – only took me about 15 years to get around to it! It was tricky to get good photos but in any case, it was more important to just enjoy the experience – they were so close!!

This exquisitely illustrated book chronicles the whole cycle for our humpbacks as they make their way north from the Antarctic each year, the cows giving birth and their sojourn all the way up the coast until it’s time to return to the icy South Pole, as it follows just one little calf.

Dr Vanessa outlines this annual migration and life cycle with elegant simplicity, a text that ebbs and flows with all the natural rhythm of the ocean itself, and the illustrations in their soothing shades of blues and greys evoke the same sense of serenity and majesty one experiences being up close to these amazing animals.

Once again, the author embeds her narrative with relevant information and the accompanying backmatter will prove even more useful in tandem with the teaching notes. There will be no problem creating meaningful learning experiences with this one, whether part of a wider unit on animals, the ocean, the environment or the local area (for schools such as those in the vicinity).

Just last weekend The Kid was surfing at Currimundi and a pod cruising past them was so close, the group could nearly have reached out to touch them – what a memory that will be for her! Not all kiddos are that lucky but, in my experience, all of them find these creatures completely fascinating and awe-inspiring so here’s a delightful way to share their beauty, as well as inform and instilling that sense of responsibility for our natural world. You can peep inside it here. Leviathan rating for this one 🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋,