52

This whale tale, based on a true story, looks at the benefits and drawbacks of being alone.

After a brief introduction in a typewriter-style font, a whale named 52 shares his unique perspective on the ocean. He admires other whales who live together in pods: “They’re just like me, except one thing, they can’t quite seem to hear me sing.” As 52 points out, whales use their voices to identify others of their kind, and 52’s different voice makes him mostly invisible. However, when he’s alone, he can see beauty that other creatures miss. The whale is mostly at peace with his differences and happy with who he is, even if it means that he’s sometimes lonely. Author DePalma and illustrator Brown create a hero with whom young readers will identify, and they’ll be sympathetic to his plight. DePalma’s rhymes scan well, and the accessible vocabulary includes challenging words with wonderful sounds to read aloud (askew, trickles, barnacles). The descriptive poetry effectively dovetails with Brown’s cartoonlike, occasionally abstract illustrations, which sometimes feel magical. Some readers may be saddened by the lack of a solution to 52’s solitude, but others may wish to learn more about the real-life whale that inspired the story. (A companion audiobook, read by comedian Patton Oswalt, is available at the publisher’s website.)

A whimsically illustrated, poetic ode to aloneness and self-acceptance.