Hope the Whale: In Association with the Natural History Museum

A remarkably magical book about the migration of whales. In particular a whale called Hope. The story is told through the eyes of a boy who watches the whales each year pass through his bay. The illustrations by Laura Chamberlain are sublime and there is incredible use of perspective in the images. One particular spread of note is where we see Hope swimming in the depths of the ocean and above is the dark base of the bottom of a boat bobbing on the surface. Certainly a book worth using when looking to explore perspectives. The illustrations give many exploration opportunities through maps and the main character choosing to draw what he sees.It's a story book but I love how the end of the book tells the real story of Hope the Whale who is a whale skeleton that can be found in the Natural History Museum. This book is one that fires up your brain into wanting to discover even more and would be a particularly useful book to begin a topic on whales, oceans or migration. I certainly went straight off to the Natural History Museums website to discover more for myself.Thanks you #NetGalley and #MacMillan for eARC

Today is the publication day for this gorgeous new story.Hope The Whale is inspired by the Natural History Museum's blue whale which we have often visited so this makes this story even more magical.This story is about the migration of whales and is told through the eyes of a young boy who spots Hope one day. He thinks about Hope, drawing and imagining her journey to the warm coast of Africa. Every year he waits, hoping for another glimpse of her. The book starts when Hope is just a baby and ends when she has a baby of her own.The illustrations are beautiful in this book, especially the underwater spreads and we loved them. At the end of the book there is information about the real 'Hope' from the museum as well as lots of interesting facts about Blue Whales. It includes information on whale conservation which is so important.This would be a brilliant book to use in school in Early Years or Key Stage One to introduce a topic on sea creatures or migration. Both of my children loved this so it is a great addition to our home book collection.

‘Hope the Whale’ is intended for young readers aged 3-6. It has been written by Macmillian Children’s Books in Association with the Natural History Museum, London and illustrated by Laura Chamberlain.Hope the Blue Whale is one of the Natural History Museum’s most loved exhibits. This beautifully illustrated children’s book imagines her early life.The story is told through the eyes of a young boy who lives by the ocean. He first sees the young blue whale swimming with her mother and names her Hope. Over the years he waits for her appearance during the whales’ annual migration. The illustrations include the young boy drawing pictures of the lives of the whales and a map of Hope’s migratory journey.Following the story is a section with facts about the lives of blue whales and how Hope’s skeleton came to the Museum in the 1890s. It also briefly touches on the historic threats that brought the blue whale close to extinction, their subsequent recovery and now the new threats facing all sea life.Laura Chamberlain’s illustrations are detailed and just exquisite. I was especially drawn to her use of the colour blue.I discovered my love of the ocean and marine life at around the age of 5 and can imagine how much I would have appealed this lovely picture book.Aside from parents, I expect that this book will be of interest to educators and librarians.