The Whales' Song by Dyan Sheldon illustrated by Gary Blythe

Lilly's grandmother tells her about the whales who once used to visit the bay near their home. Lilly's grandmother explains to Lilly if you want to see and more importantly hear the whales you need to leave them a gift - a perfect shell or a beautiful stone.

Sadly, Lilly's old Uncle Frederick has no time for these fanciful tales. In his view the whales were hunted for their meat, bones and blubber. He is sure all of the whales are long gone. 

Lilly's dreams are filled with whales and so in the morning she drops a yellow flower into the water at the end of the jetty. That night something magical happens:

"Her heart was pounding as she reached the sea. There enormous in the ocean, were the whales. They leapt and jumped and spun across the moon. Their singing filled up the night. Lilly saw her yellow flower dancing on the spray."

Sheldon captures a child's wonder at these magnificent creatures, echoed, in a splendid debut, in Blythe's generously broad oil paintings. His whales- -viewed from near, unusual vantage points—are benignly heroic while, from dawn to moonlight, his sea and sky are beautifully observed; best are his lovely, perceptive portraits of the old woman's wise, lined face and Lilly's tousled curls and expressive eyes. Outstanding. Kirkus

The Whales' Song was first published in 1990 but I am happy to see a paperback edition is still available. This is also a book you are sure to find in a library. I have mentioned The Whales' Song in a past blog post  and again here but today I realised I have not dedicated a post to this richly illustrated text.

Dyan Sheldon was born in America but now lives in London. I own another of her books also illustrated by Gary - The Garden or in another edition Under the Moon. The Whales' Song was Gary Blythe's first picture book. 

Here is another book illustrated by Gary Blythe: