Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Staake | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Newberg Public Library | WAVES STAAKE | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Bob Staake's tale of a whale of a friendship!
Something big had come ashore. It seemed to have a tail.
Pixie now was staring at . . . a giant washed-up whale!
Pixie Picklespeare lives on a tiny island where there's no one to play with . . . until a friendly whale washes ashore. With Pixie's help (sort of), Beachy is soon back in the water, where the two play marvelous games. However, Beachy knows he must migrate to be with other whales. As he disappears into the deep, Pixie feels that she's lost her dear friend forever. But when he returns months later, Pixie learns that at special times of the year, she and Beachy will be together again!
Author Notes
BOB STAAKE is the creator of more than 50 books for children, including My Pet Book; Bluebird; The Red Lemon, a 2006 New York Times Best Illustrated Book; and The Donut Chef, a Children's Choice Book Awards finalist. He's also a prolific and highly acclaimed commercial illustrator whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, Time, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. Find out more about Bob at bobstaake.com.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In a tall lighthouse, in a big ocean, small-island dweller Pixie Picklespeare (the "only kid who's here!") is BORED. Enter the very large, very blue Beachy the whale, who's washed ashore and needs her help. After many tries, Pixie's "ker-splash" at a timely high tide sends both water lovers into the sea to learn and play together in a summer of ocean exploration. From wave crest to sea caves, the pair flips and flops throughout the rhyming text and a handy grid map of the environs of Pixie's Island, including a compass rose, a reef, a kelp forest, a local shipwreck, a geological sea chimney, and the whales' migratory route. This is a tale of friendship lost and regained, as whales must migrate. Contrasting font sizes and generous spreads highlight the behemoth's friendly grin as Beachy's quickly identifiable blue cartoon shape again returns to fill the page. VERDICT This "true-blue friend" tale is a general purchase recommendation for all libraries, especially those on the coasts.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX c Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Alone in her island lighthouse, Pixie Picklespeare is bored-but not for long. A whale gets stranded on her beach, and now she has a new problem: "She pushed the whale/ She heaved and shoved./ He just had too much blubber!" Staake (My Pet Book) plays up the contrast between the enormous midnight-blue whale ("Hello-my name is Beachy!") and tiny Pixie, whose tongue lolls out from the exhaustion of trying to free her new friend. Yet the two share the same wide-eyed glee in a characteristically Staake salute to mid-20th-century cartoon art. High tide frees Beachy, and the two enjoy deep-ocean fun in a series of spreads, diving, leaping, and tumbling as Pixie rides on Beachy's back and follows him under the waves. She's heartbroken when he migrates ("Beachy listened to his heart./ It told him 'Time to sail!' "), but he returns after a few pages. Staake's adventure offers eye-popping color, a wealth of sea life, and the entrancing vision of a companion who appears intimidating but is actually as devoted as a puppy. Ages 3-7. Agent: Gillian MacKenzie, Gillian MacKenzie Agency. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
You might think that Pixie has it made in the shade. She lives in a pink house on her own tiny island, where she operates a lighthouse and plays all day. Unfortunately, as the island's only resident, Pixie is lonely. And worse bored. That all changes when a hulking blue whale named Beachy washes up on shore. Pixie rushes to his aid, and in a comical sequence of illustrations, the small girl is shown heaving, shoving, tugging, and rolling the whale toward the water. Finally back in the ocean, Beachy declares, I'll be your true-blue friend. Boredom, farewell! The pair spend the entire summer swimming and riding waves, until the time comes for Beachy to migrate though he promises to return. Staake's (My Pet Book, 2014) signature digital illustrations boast a summery array of colors and big-eyed, rounded figures that bring humor and unguarded expressions (glee, face-melting ennui) to every spread. As the rhyming text bounces evenly along, young readers will be swept away by this whale of a friendship tale.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
Living alone in a "dinky" lighthouse on a tiny island, little Pixie Picklespeare is understandably bored. But her luck changes when Beachy, a gigantic blue whale, washes ashore. They ride waves and swim in caves. Too bad he splits at summer's end ("He had to migrate once a year/ to be with other whales," of course). Staake ("The Red Lemon") serves up easy rhymes and bright digital art like a custard cone with rainbow sprinkles, and a sunny final twist: Next year, Beachy comes back. PINNY IN SUMMER By Joanne Schwartz. Illustrated by Isabelle Malenfant. 32pp. Groundwood/House of Anansi. $16.95. (Early chapter book; ages 4 to 7) A late summer day near the ocean, a smiling girl who hums as she looks for "a special kind of rock" to make a wish on: From this lovely opening through four simple chapters, "Pinny in Summer" sets an idyllic mood. Pinny seems wonderfully plucked out of time. Parent-free, she picks blueberries, takes walks, makes a cake, hosts a party and cleverly handles a mischievous seagull's incursions. Malenfant's adorable, windswept watercolors add even more charm to each page. WAITING FOR HIGH TIDE Written and illustrated by Nikki McClure. 48 pp. Abrams. $19.95. (Picture book; ages 5 to 7) It's six hours from low tide to high tide, and the narrator of the latest paper-cut marvel from McClure ("Mama, Is It Summer Yet?") is impatient. Her family is building a raft. She roams the beach collecting cool stuff and checking out barnacles. The raft gets done, but there's more waiting before they can push off. Finally, they float away and jump in the water "again and again and again." Heaven! There's also info on checking the tides in Washington State, and a funny bit about safely using a hatchet. MR. HULOT AT THE BEACH Written and illustrated by David Merveille. 32 pp. NorthSouth. $18.95. (Picture book; ages 4 and up) Evoking the elegant, pratfall-powered world of silent film comedy, this droll wordless book continues the story begun in Merveille's "Hello, Mr. Hulot." This time, the beloved character originated on-screen by Jacques Tati spends a less-than-restful day by the sea, pipe firmly in mouth and dressed to the nines. There's a showdown with a folding chair, a mishap involving a dog, a shoe gone into the water and an ongoing attempt to read a newspaper, all conveyed in smooth, subtle black and white. SEA CHANGE Written and illustrated by Frank Viva. 115 pp. Toon Books. $18.95. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Viva's transporting first novel (after picture books including "Along a Long Road") weaves drawings and playful typography through the story of 12-year-old Eliot Dionisi, bummed at being sent to relatives in Nova Scotia for a no-frills summer of lobster trapping and cod-jigging. The kids are tough, and their parents even rougher: The girl he likes has worrisome bruises. But he reads, makes friends, has a first kiss, explores a lighthouse, and discovers a well of compassion and courage in himself. ONLINE An expanded visual presentation of this week's column at nytimes.com/books.