The illustrations were lovely! I think Simon Röthlisberger did an amazing job bringing Rebecca Gugger's words to life. The story felt a little random and nonsensical, but there were a few memorable moments. The whale takes Ida on an incredible journey, and shares bits of wisdom along the way. "Some quicker, some slower, but all of us grow." I thought it was an enjoyable story that my children could understand and relate to. However, now my son wants a whale to show up at his window to take him on an adventure!

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on January 4, 2019.

Ida and the Whale is a picturebook written by Rebecca Gugger and illustrated by Simon Röthlisberger. It was recently translated into English and will be released in the states on April 2 2019. What lies behind the sun, the moon, and the stars? Ida can’t stop thinking about these and other very important questions. Then one night, a flying whale wakes her and takes her on an amazing journey—where some of her questions are answered and even more created.

Ida and the Whale is a beautifully illustrated story about wonder and imagination. It is worth looking at for the artstyle alone, to be honest. I loved the colors and use of motion and line on each page. The story is gentle and soothing, and I think it would work well as a bedtime story or to help settle young readers for a quiet play or story time. I did find the text to be a little dull in comparison to the artwork. However, I think that was more because of translation than anything to do with the author. In picturebooks word choice is so important to the flow, and translations do not always hold the intended rhythm and feel as the original.

Title: Ida and the Whale
Author: Rebecca Gugger
Illustrator: Simon Roethlisberger

The Story:
Gazing out of her high-up tree house, Ida wonders about what lies beyond the stars. Then a gigantic flying whale takes her on an unexpected adventure to find out. Constantly playing with opposites, the gigantic whale answers tiny Ida’s big questions. Ida sees a world where everything is upside down (even the text of the story!) and learns that you can be close to someone even when you can’t see them.

Favourite Spread:
I was hooked by the quirky premise of this book: a gigantic flying whale. And my favourite spread is when we first met the whale and see his vast size. Yet something about this incredibly beautiful illustration instantly made me feel like a gigantic flying whale was entirely possible. I adored the illustrations throughout.

The Verdict:
This story has an irresistible premise with spectacular illustrations that guide you through a magical world. It is a lovely, heart-warming story of friendship and self-discovery.

Picture Book Perfect Rating:
Four out of five stars.

Publisher: North-South Books
Publication date: 2 April 2019
ISBN: 978 0735843417

I am very grateful to the publisher for providing me with an advanced digital copy via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I will definitely be buying this children's book for my little girls library. So, I obviously already recommend this sweet book.

The illustrations blew me away, each page was beautifully painted and the word layouts were placed very nicely.

This is a beautiful book on the power of imagination of a little girl at its finest! I LOVED the different worlds in a bottle. Like a ship in a bottle except it's a world instead.

A REVIEW OF A BOOK FOR MOMS TO READ TO THEIR CHILDREN.
Do you want to open a world of imagination to your child? Well, Ida and the Whale is the book to do it.

I read picture books to my kids from the first week they were born until they were about twelve. Yes, they can read just fine on their own. But reading a picture book aloud is just a glorious way to spend time together. You look at the pictures, read the words together.

This book is a beautiful and gentle adventure that a young girl takes with a whale. Yes, that’s right – a whale!

Together they travel to the heavens and explore constellations of animals and new fantastic worlds.

Every page is absolutely stuffed with activities you can do with your children. After you have read the story through once or twice, sit down with just a page and ask your child, how many animals do you see here? What are their names?

You can play I Spy and have your child hunt for colors or numbers of objects. There are so many, many way for you to explore together! All it takes is a little imagination.

This book for moms and kids is an amazing adventure story. I highly recommend it for your library!

I received an electronic ARC from NorthSouth Books through NetGalley.
A delightful story of a young girl who lives alone in a tree. She yearns to see beyond this world. A large blue flying whale comes by and together they head off on adventures. Ida learns to listen and see what's happening around her. Her world broadens as she listens to the whale's advice.
The illustrations are full of details for readers to explore. Don't miss the adventures in bottles on Ida's wall from beginning to end of the book.
Beautiful book to share with elementary level readers.

I am in love with this book! What a beautifully illustrated magical tale for both parents (or teachers) and kids. The children's books I read and review are books I read with my girls (4 and 2.5) on the Kindle or tablet, but I'm saving this one to be read when I can purchase a physical copy. I really enjoyed the ideas of mystery and wonder here, as well as friendship and how we are all different and grow at different paces and to different sizes.

Ida and the Whale is a beautiful little story about friendship. The absolutely gorgeous illustrations and quiet, unassuming colors create a calming experience for the reader.

I adored the illustrations - they were perfect. The story wasn’t nearly as impressive to me.

I’m curious to see what my kids think and will edit my review once I read it with them.

I loved the illustrations in the book. Unfortunately I found the story lacking. It had an abrupt ending. I wanted a better conclusion of their adventures.

I enjoyed this book, particularly the beautiful illustrations, but I found the story a little incomplete.
I liked the message of spending time in silence and being at peace in someone else's company, but the ending for me was a little abrupt and I wasn't sure if I had missed something.
Nevertheless I would like to read it with my primary students who study English as a second language, and open a discussion on what the story meant to them. For me it was possible that Ida dreamed about the whale and I would like to open a discussion on dreams and have my students try to recount and illustrate their dreams.

Ida and the Whale is a unique story about feeling alone and wanting to find a friend. Ida is dreaming and goes on a trip with a whale. The friendship and the conversations they have are meaningful and told in a way that students would understand. Children are never too young to be read to, and I especially love books that will capture a child's attention as well as send a positive message. This book hit the mark with my criteria.
This is a book that I would use in my classroom as well as recommend parents to read to their children.

The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the illistrations. They are so pretty and whimsical. I liked how the book captured a child’s imagination while giving bits of wisdom along the way. I did find the story a little hard to follow from a child’s perspective but overall it is a great book.

Cute book! I could see it being a good read aloud in grade 3 and below. I imagine that it would lead to some great conversations!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC! The illustrations in this novel were stunning. I also loved that the main character was a red haired little girl. The idea of wondering what all is out their and the unlikely adventure to see it all with a whale was very creative and fun. I also liked the message that even if you lose sight of someone, you can still carry them with you. A must buy children’s novel!

A charming tale of imagination and friendship. The illustrations were beautiful and transported you to Ida's magical world of wonder.

I found this one a little weird, but it does have very good lessons on understanding other perspectives, life in general, friendship, enjoying silences, etc. The watercolor illustrations are ince, but have an unfinished quality to them, and it bugged me that there were continuity issues with how Ida's house was portrayed (sometimes with a ladder, sometimes without; sometimes low to the ground, sometimes high in the top of the tree - it was odd!)

I just finished reading it, I really liked it. It's a well written book that has gorgeous ilustrations and good messages, I liked what it said about friendships, specially the trust you have in your friend even if you can't see each other often. I really enjoyed the experience of reading this book, so I thank you for giving me the opportunity to do so.

Such a lovely book. Eye catching Illustrations and heart warming story!!!
ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Can I ever resist a Swedish author/illustrator? Nope. What really makes this book are the illustrations. The illustrations are beautiful! They are light and deep and really make you want to keep moving through the story. The story itself started out whimsical and precious, but it lost me and the girls about half way through. It gets a bit confusing and it didn't capture my girls attention to much. They were mostly awed by the pictures, which I don't blame them. There are some great parts of the story and we had a chat about our imagination, so it did lend itself to a great discussion.