A boastful whale and a showboating otter compete in a battle of words to prove that each is the greatest animal ever to swim the seas.(goodreads summary)
Two ocean mammals compete with words in this creative picture book by one of my favorite children's author. When you first read the book, the whale's voice is telling the otter why he feels he is the better of the two mammals in the sea. At the last page, you are told to read the book the other way, where it becomes the otter's voice telling the whale why he thinks he is the better of the two mammals. Sounds complicated but it will all make sense after you read it this way. I didn't know what to expect until the end and was pleasantly surprised on how it worked to tell a story.
The text did feel choppy at first but then it flowed better going backwards for me. I found it easier after I read it a couple more times out loud to myself. The illustrations are cute and I felt like I was at the ocean by the fun color scheme. There is a wonderful end note explaining the author's writing process and the use of words along with brief facts about the whale and otter. I learned that they are alike and different in many ways and very important to our ecosystem. All in all, I liked this book for its uniqueness, creativity and fun facts. It is not easy making a book like this to come together. I learned a new style of writing and appreciate the hard work that was put into this story by the author. I think this is a "just right book" for ages 5-9.~
Title: The Whale's Tale and the Otter's Side of the Story
Author: Kate Messner, illustrated by Brian Biggs
Pub. date: April 2026, Clarion Books
Genre: picture book
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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