If You Ever Meet a Whale

by Myra Cohn Livingston, Leonard Everett Fisher (Illustrator)

An anthology of both traditional and specially commissioned poems pays tribute to the world's largest mammal, describing the different types of whales and their habits.

Genres: Poetry

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Myra Cohn Livingston was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Her family moved to California when she was 12 years old. She studied the French horn from age 12 to age 20, becoming so good that the Los Angeles Philharmonic invited her to join them when she was 16 years old. She had other plans. She knew she wanted to write.

Reviews

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a crazy experience. I went into this thinking these would be cute poems about whales for children. Big mistake haha. A lot of these poems were pretty dark. They're not bad, and they're interesting. I just can't imagine reading these to children lmao.

[Mandy Grathwohl · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be honest, I picked out this book because the title was interesting, and the cover coloring was lovely. It was a revelation, in a way, coming to realize that books like this exist: poetry anthologies dedicated to a mammal. Who ever could have thought of it? I was skeptical at first, thinking that nothing but disappointment could come from such a unique concept; I was wrong. The poems in this, though simple, have a great warm magnitude to them. It’s evident that the authors really care about the subject matter. They put their heart into it. And sure, maybe I’m an overtly emotional person and poems about whales do indeed make me cry, but this isn’t all me. The book itself is imbued with great intention, and it’s something that children should read for a multitude of reasons.

So often are students faced with poetry that they may not like that they still have to analyze, memorize, other -i/yze, and it takes the heart out of the literature. This book isn’t for analysis, but straight consumption and education. Does your child want to learn about whales? Get this to shake things up! They’ll learn basic facts about whales, but also new and beautiful ways of stating them.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Including poets such as Jane Yolen, Theodore Roethke, X.J. Kennedy, Lillian Moore, Elizabeth Coatsworth and John Ciardi.

[Olivia Berger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provided different poems about whales while incorporating facts about whales into the poems. The poems included where whales lived and the characteristics of whales. I feel as though it would be a bit complicated for young children to read and comprehend, but it did give the idea and some facts about whales.