A Garden of Whales
by Maggie Steincrohn Davis
Illustrated by Jennifer Barrett O’Connell

Firefly Books, Ltd.
Reading level: ages 4-8
ISBN: 0-944475-35-3
$6.95 1993
 

In his bath one night a boy begins to dream about living in the sea with the whales that he loves. But there is trouble in his dream; the whales are in grave danger and he must devise a plan to bring them to safety. With friends from “all the world over,” the boy calls on the ghosts of the whales to rain down their tears on a secret whale garden where families of whales are reborn. Then, “in the dark of the night when the time was just right,” the children help “put them back into the sea.”
 
 
 
Comments from the Illustrator

This was an amazing project. Maggie Davis (the author) called excitedly from Maine wanting me to hear the story after receiving my sample slides. I was mesmerized by the wonderful fantasy and rhythm of her words - this was a book I wanted to illustrate.

Authors and illustrators typically do not work directly together, but in this case we did and I appreciated Maggie’s valuable input. Her vision of the hillside with huge crocus like flowers was an inspiration. Her description helped me to perfectly visualize the scene. Maggie’s supportive and open approach helped me to realize my vision of the book. Elizabeth Nelson, the art director, was wonderful to work with as well. Her excellent suggestions challenged me to expand the envelope of my work.
 
 
 

Reviews and Comment

“I remember as a child being fascinated with whales - their size, their sounds, their images as rulers of the sea. It’s a fascination that has never left me.
I wish I could have had A Garden of Whales, a wonderful new children’s book by Maggie Steincrohn Davis of Blue Hill, to share with my daughters as they were growing up. In simple language, with stunningly beautiful illustrations by Jennifer Barrett O’Connell, the book gently delivers to children the important message that this magnificent and endangered species must be protected and preserved before it is too late....”
-Hugh Bowden, Ellsworth American

“...Like a contemporary “Kubla Kahn” for kids, this fantasy appears to rise directly from a dream. Its surrender of logic clears, rather than obscures, the vision and leads readers to the book’s heart – the Eskimo folk belief that we and the whales are one and the same. With her effulgent oil pastel illustrations O’Connell fully enters Davis’s dream and strikingly echoes the fluent reverie. This is a bedtime read-aloud that will set heads nodding.”
-Publishers Weekly

“As a mother of a three year-old who loves whales, I have to say that this is the pinnacle of his whale book collection. Humpbacks, grays, belugas, killers, fins, rights, bowheads, narwhals and even dolphins are all represented in a breathtakingly beautiful dreamy story of whales and the children who love them. Evenly matched with the prose is the awe inspiring illustration. Wow. This is just a beautiful book that you and your children will love. I read it twice to my son right out of the box and got choked up each time when I read about the children hatching a plan to regrow all of the whales that man has killed...
...Even if your children don’t love whales yet...they will after reading this book.”
-Parent, PoetryConnection.net

Awards and Honors

Recipient of The Vermont Publishers Association Certificate of Merit

Ordering Information

Visit your local bookstore (www.booksense.com)
Order online:
www.amazon.com
www.bn.com (Barnes & Noble)
Or call Firefly Books, Ltd. at 1-800-387-5085 Extension 134