“Richly composed and sweetly appealing—just right for baby storytimes as well as one-to-one sharing.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Perfectly suitable as a read-aloud.” — School Library Journal Take a deep breath and dive into a day in the life of a baby whale, told with luminous illustrations and spare text, with a fresh twist on a timeless message. Swim! Play all day. Breathe. This simply told story follows a young whale on a journey of discovery as he experiences his first day at sea on his own! He swims, explores, and makes friends in his marine habitat. After a day of independence, this little whale delights in returning home to his mother. Young readers will be drawn to Scott Magoon’s reassuring story of adventure. PreS-Gr 1—With the encouragement of its mother, a young whale spends the day exploring, making new friends, finding shipwrecks, and swimming past glaciers, while intermittently pausing to "breathe" during its busy day. When the whale encounters a polar bear and becomes frightened, its mother soon reappears and assures its safety. This comforting tale not only gives youngsters the opportunity to explore the ocean alongside a whale but also subtly reminds them of the importance of slowing down to take a break every once in a while. Magoon's illustrations, which were rendered digitally, are vibrant and expansive, each filling a spread with vivid shades of blue. The minimal text is laid out in clear, big font, supporting the impressive illustrations without ever overshadowing them. With its succinct text and sprawling pictures, this story is perfectly suitable as a read-aloud. Pair it with Stephanie St. Pierre's What the Sea Saw (Peachtree, 2006) for a gentle, ocean-themed storytime.—Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY A brand new baby white whale swims off for the first time to investigate his ocean world. The playful calf frolics with puffins, jellyfish, crabs, and googly-eyed fish; sings to narwhals and squid; explores a pirate ship; and smiles at polar bears peeking through holes in the arctic ice. When he emerges out of arctic waters, his spout sprays in mists. As he dives deep, his glowing gurgles and frothy foam are sharply delineated against indigo waters. Every few pages the word breathe repeats, reminding readers that whales need to come to the surface for air. When the baby sleeps contentedly on the back of his loving mother, he dreams under the stars and the moon in a black sky lit by blue-green northern lights. Endpapers sport duplicate pods of white whales swimming on an aqua background. Every double-page spread is filled with delights. Severalwords per page (“play all day” or “make friends”), simple shapes, and bright digitalized colors tell this story about the joys of exploring our world. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Lolly Gepson ★"A very young whale swims into the wider world of the arctic seas, celebrating first adventures of the very young. Magoon's digital art captures the colors and crisp, airy light of the Arctic setting; cartoon lines and wide eyes present creatures above and under the ice as friendly, rounded and smiling. The little whale (clearly a baby beluga but not named as such) is doing the work that toddlers do--exploring the world with mama nearby. Richly composed and sweetly appealing--just right for baby storytimes as well as one-to-one sharing." -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review. "Magoon rejoices in the life of a young beluga whale, focusing on images of serenity and encouragement. . .[the] digital illustrations add piquant touches of special-effects magic. Arctic animals and fish dot the landscape, and mother is always nearby: 'Most of all, love... be loved.' It's a pleasure simply to enjoy the beluga's existence, though readers should readily recognize that Magoon's directives to 'make new friends' and 'find another way up' apply to them, too." -- Publisher's Weekly "This comforting tale not only gives youngsters the opportunity to explore the ocean alongside a whale but also subtly reminds them of the importance of slowing down to take a break every once in a while. Magoon's illustrations. . . are vibrant & expansive, each filling a spread with vivid shades of blue. The minimal text is laid out in clear, big font, supporting the impressive illustrations without ever overshadowing them. With its succinct text and sprawling pictures, this story is perfectly suitable as a read-aloud." -Laura J. Giunta, Garden City Public Library, NY -School Library Journal Scott Magoon is the illustrator of many books for young readers, including  Spoon  by Amy Krouse Rosenthal,  Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer and Kara LaReau's  Ugly Fish . He is also both the author and illustrator of The Boy Who Cried Bigfoot , which Kirkus Reviews called "entertaining and clever--and that's no lie." The art director at a major children's publisher, he lives in the Boston area with his wife and two sons. Visit him at ScottMagoon.com.