The Zebra-Striped Whale with the Polka-Dot Tail [Hardcover]

Shari Faden Donahue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001 | Age Level: 2 and up

With illustrations featuring a wide variety of materials, including string, coins, glitter, paint, and fabric, this enchanting modern-day fairy tale follows two young sisters as they travel through a fantasy world in a crystal boat accompanied by a whale with a polka-dot tail. Along the journey, the girls view a world quite the opposite of what they know: where no belly is hungry and no soul is poor, where no baby cries and nothing living dies. However, the girls eventually realize that all that glitters is not gold and that no life can be perfect.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-Two children enter a fantasy world in which "No belly is hungry./No soul is poor," where volcanoes are made of fudge and trees are made of pretzels. The author/illustrator explains that the inspiration for this book was the sudden death of her beloved father and that she worked for 10 years to create the illustrations to the verses that poured out of her in response to her loss. Despite an extravagant use of varied materials including glitter, faux gems, metallic lace, different papers and paints, and an exuberant palette, the collages do little to engage children. Moreover, Donahue's words range from the oblique ("-all trues are FALSE/And all falses are TRUE") to the platitudinous ("All that glitters is surely not gold!"). Although the author and her family undoubtedly found solace in working on this book, it has nothing that is revelatory or useful for the rest of us.-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A story for both children and parents, a tasty morsel to chew and stew over, evening after evening."  —Bloomsbury Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Arimax, Inc; First Edition edition (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096342873X
• ISBN-13: 978-0963428738
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 11.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,008,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderfully delightful story!, November 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Zebra-Striped Whale with the Polka-Dot Tail (Hardcover)

I read this book to my five children and they were so enchanted with the story. They sat quietly through the whole story without uttering a word "pretty amazing to keep 5 children under the age of 7 quite through a whole book".

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, compelling message, we need more of this now!, October 18, 2001

By 

"fluffzoey" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zebra-Striped Whale with the Polka-Dot Tail (Hardcover)

I originally picked out this book because of the delightful cover. I was drawn to the beautiful pictures, and inspired by the uplifting message. This is a charming book that will delight readers of all ages! At this tragic time in our lives, we need more books like this, as we can all triumph from the deeper meaning of the text!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Book: The Zebra-Striped Whale, March 6, 2001

By 

Danielle Landau (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zebra-Striped Whale with the Polka-Dot Tail (Hardcover)

This is an outstanding, colorful delight to read over-and-over again!! The brilliant artwork and compelling message really provides thought provoking discussions with our children. I have even read this book to our children's classroom and they were all mesmorized and in awe.

This is destined to be a new-age classic.