Whole Whale

Words by Karen Yin

Art by Nelleke Verhoeff

Barefoot Books, 2021

Thank you, Kidlit411 and Karen Yin for sending me a copy of Whole Whale! What a wonderfully huge and engaging picture book!

I follow several picture book and book blogs to keep up with what is going on in the book business. I love reading about new picture books and encouraging authors and illustrators. Several blogs share updates about agents, editors, and publishing houses, which is always interesting. And sometimes, to my joy, I comment on blog posts and my name is pulled from the hat and I win a copy! I have met many wonderful books (and authors and illustrators) this way. Plus, I’m keeping up with what’s happening in the kid book world. Win-win-win.

A recent post at Kidlit411 shared about Whole Whale and Karen Yin. Whole Whale is her debut picture book. What a splash! Be sure to hop over to Kidlit411 and read her interview.

Why I LOVE this book:

~ The book size is huge – just like a whole whale! 12 x 12 inches!

~ How do you fit a whole blue whale in a book? Can you? What a fun mystery for young readers.

~ Fun, rhyming language builds suspense

~ A catchy repeating chorus, “But can we fit a whole blue whale?”

~ A fun fold-out surprise at the end

~ The final page which lists all the animals in the book

~ Can you count 100? Fun, fun, fun!

~ A wide variety of animals, land, sea, and sky

~ Encouragement to make room for just one more

~ Fantastic colorful illustrations

Congratulations, Karen and Nelleke! What a fun book!

You can find Karen:

KarenYin.com (sign up for the Purposeful Prose Newsletter)

Twitter: @karenyin, https://twitter.com/karenyin

Instagram: @karensoffice, https://www.instagram.com/karensoffice/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/karenyin

Karen sent me this book via Once Upon a Time, a bookstore in Montrose, CA. Thank you!

Monet was trying to help me post this review. Can we fit the big fat cat?