How to Put a Whale in a Suitcase

by Raúl Nieto Guridi

A thought-provoking and striking new title from Raul Guridi that explores the theme of migration
 
What happens if you suddenly have to leave your home and put everything you love into one suitcase? How do you begin to fit everything in? As the boy in the book tries to squeeze his whale into a suitcase, it becomes clear that the whale symbolizes something much larger.
 

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction

26 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2019

About the author

Raúl Nieto Guridi has created many books for children, including The King of Nothing (New York Review Books), A Drop of the Sea (Kids Can), and The Day I Became a Bird (Kids Can). His works have been selected for special mention for the Bologna Ragazzi Award and for inclusion in the USBBY Outstanding International Books list. It's So Difficult was shaped by Guridi's experiences with students as a secondary school teacher. He lives in Spain.

Reviews

[Catupecita · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He decidido hacer un viaje. Será un viaje largo, muy largo. Por eso llevaré conmigo lo que más quiero: a mi ballena. "

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young boy attempts to pack his beloved whale in this brief picture-book, which poses the question on its back cover: "What happens if you have to leave home suddenly and put everything you love into a suitcase?" After a number of unsuccessful attempts, the boy finally manages to fit the whale (on paper, anyway) into his suitcase, and the story concludes with his observation that although he and his fellow travelers don't know where they are heading, they do know they have to leave...

Originally published in Spain as Cómo meter una ballena en una maleta, and translated into English for the London-based Tate Publishing, How to Put a Whale in a Suitcase feels like an oblique treatment of the immigrant (possibly refugee?) experience. Reading it, I was conscious of a feeling that it was supposed to be very meaningful, even though its meaning is so very indirectly communicated (and a matter of debate). I wasn't too impressed by the narrative here, and the artwork likewise didn't have much appeal, even though I've enjoyed some of Guridi's other work, and even though the cover illustration really drew me in. In the end, I came away with the impression that this was a book whose creator was trying just a little too hard to be clever.

[Marcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over hoe een walvis niet in een koffer past, en misschien tussen de regels vooral over alle dingen die niet in een koffer passen als je opeens op reis moet. Schrijnend mooi in z'n eenvoud.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mom and I read this picture book at a bookstore and then promptly put it back. It started out well, with vivid illustrations and entertaining prose, but then the story devolved into bewildering abstractions. We got more and more confused with each page, and then reached the abrupt ending that reveals that this was all a metaphor for the refugee experience. Even knowing that, surrealist parts of the book still didn't make sense. I can't imagine trying to explain this to the target audience!

Suggestions of alternate titles:

The Journey
I'm New Here
My Two Blankets
Lubna and Pebble
The Matchbox Diary
A Piece of Home
Teacup
Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family's Journey

[Alejandra Espinoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original, entrañable y profundo.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetic book about the difficulties of packing and leaving a place, particularly when what you’re packing can’t easily be moved. A lovely metaphor for the challenges of relocating and the impossibility of taking with you all that you love about living there.

[Wilde Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy figures out how to take his 'prized' possession with him when he has to leave home with a single suitcase.

I thought this was a clever book.

Reading time around twenty minutes.

[Henna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is a whale a whale?

[Dylan Teut · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very abstract, so very much for older readers; nonetheless, packs a powerful and moving punch.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you have to leave home suddenly fit what you love most inside a suitcase. Abstract and affecting.

[David Haggett]

A bit too metaphorical....

[Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a very deep meaning. I almost cried

[molliekay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful metaphor for being forced from your home. Definitely for older readers, though.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on the title, I expected a fun and silly storyline. Except... it is serious. Quite a number of metaphors can be applied.

[natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

crying in museum shop: check

[Nenúfares ☽ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lo leímos con Pedro en la librería, ternura :(

[Loes Houwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi boek, voorgelezen aan kinderen van 6 jaar. Wat zou jij voor altijd bij je willen dragen?

[Katherine Roesler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!