じんべえざめ

by Susumu Shingu, 新宮 晋

Meet the world’s largest living fish: the whale shark. With a back like a mountain range and a body that creates an enormous, looming shadow in the ocean below him, the whale shark is an exceptionally gentle giant—and yet it is relatively unknown. This informational picture book introduces readers to these stunning creatures in spare, poetic text. It’s a lyrical meditation that gives a sense of the whale shark’s slow, grand journey through the Earth’s oceans while creating an opportunity for inquiry and awe. Deep blue sketch illustrations play with perspective and seem to move with the natural energy of wind and water. The book ends with a factual page about whale sharks, which can be found in all tropical seas, and have been spotted off the coast of several countries around the world, including South Africa, Australia, India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Mexico. Readers will come away with a well-formed sense of wonder and respect as they leave the whale shark to continue his leisurely journey.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Nature, Science, Childrens

Tankobon Hardcover

First published December 1, 2010

Reviews

[J. Boo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough poetic-ish journey into the life of whale sharks. Not much detailed information incorporated in the text. Monochrome drawings, no pictures. Definitely a read-to-young-children book.

Shark fan DD#2 (age 1) quite liked it and made it all the way through one and half consecutive readings. I guess she wanted to hit the high points again? Anyway, this is pretty good by her standards. More mature shark aficionado DS#2 (age 3) concurred in praise for the book.

Now let's all sing!

Baby Shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Baby Shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Baby Shark doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Baby Shark!

[Karen Arendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The text is as peaceful as the animal.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read for shark week! Really cool info about whale sharks!

[A Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each page has no more than one sentence and sometimes one sentence spans several pages. This book has a quiet energy that could be useful before naptime, I think, if added to a preschool classroom's shark lesson plan. This book has a gentle vibe just like the whale sharks themselves. The illustrations are black on a blue background and contribute nicely to the calmness exuding from the book. This is not a "must have" book for me, but I like it. I could see checking it out from the library annually.

[Michelle Turnure · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful book! The large sized illustrations are masterful and it was wonderful to read through the book. I read through the book with my newborn daughter and it was not colorful enough to keep her interest but I will for sure come back to this book when she is older. I think she will find it mesmerizing. It is a great introduction to whale sharks and there is a further description in the back that explain more about whale sharks.

[Hester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Translated from Japanese, this book reads like Japanese poetry. The illustrations are lovely, and appeal to toddlers who love baby shark. The language is meditative enough to soothe adults, and the material is interesting enough for older children. This is a book that rewards multiple readings. Highly recommended.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite like this book. It teaches kids about an animal that is new to most of them, but is also quite a simple book. I used it in a storytime, however, and it certainly wasn't enough to really grip kids as a first book. It might have worked better later in the program.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible artwork, beautiful ode to a gentle creature.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, lyrical non-fiction picture book about whale sharks. The illustrations, all in hues of blue, black and white, are beautiful too.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Poetic language at a leisurely pace, like that of the whale shark, to describe the largest fish on the planet. Simple palette of blues, blacks, whites works very well. I really liked this but it should have ended with "he'll continue his leisurely, endless journey." The next page ("Our earth, planet of water") seemed out of place and took me out of the book that preceded it. If I share with a group, I will likely end the book with the prior page.

Why is this animal called a whale shark? The page with more information does not tell us this. I see the whale but why shark? I'll have to look that up because I know a child will ask me if I read this aloud. Also, we learn how big this fish is and what it eats, but how much food does it eat? Kids like this kind of info

[Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The title is intriguing - who thinks of sharks as 'wandering'? This book explains and gives information in an easy-to understand narrative. We see the shark from various angles, mostly up-close giving the reader the feeling of being underwater with it.
Dark blues and white highlights compliment the coloring of the shark done in black cross-hatch lines. Black endpapers have just the slightest hint of white sparkles.

[Debrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A poetic, gentle book that invites the reader to swim along with the enormous whale shark. Lovely language.

My only quibble: the pictures didn't actually leave me with the sense of grandeur that the words invoked. A larger-format book would do greater justice to this graceful homage.

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text is just enough to provide some basic information about these giant creatures. The illustrations may not be initially attractive to many children, but do a nice job of showing what a whale shark might look like under water.

[John (JP) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful piece of art work that looks at the life of the Whale Shark.Written for children adults will enjoy the drawings.

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really nicely illustrated blue and black look under the sea and around a whale shark.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiration for an art project

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations and beautiful text.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a simple and majestic book about the way a shark rises to the surface and eats. Very simple words and beautiful perfect for storytime and not scary.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for all ages!!! Beautiful illustrations!

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the pictures! I wanted to like the text more, but I think some of the charm gets lost in the translation from Japanese to English

[Ampersand Inc. · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Dot:
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From Judy:
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