June 8th is World Oceans Day!
‘World Oceans Day’ was officially recognized, in 2008, by the United Nations General Assembly after a proposal, in 1992, by the Government of Canada.
“Without water, our planet would be one of the billions of lifeless rocks floating endlessly in the vastness of the inky-black void.” – Fabien Cousteau, oceanographic explorer
Gerstein, Mordecai. The Boy and the Whale. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2017.
A young boy and his father rescue a whale tangled in their net in this life-affirming story based on a real-life event. The expressive illustrations, well-designed pages, and smoothly flowing text combine to make this a wonderful picture book for children and young teenagers.
“I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me. The sea.” – Gary Paulsen, Caught by the Sea
Learn more about World Oceans Day!
Marino, Gianna. Following Papa’s Song. New York: Viking, 2014.
Full-page illustrations colourfully illustrate this story about the migration of humpback whales. Recommended for children up to seven years of age.
“When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused.” – Rainer Maria Rilke, poet
