'The Whale That Fell In Love With A Submarine' by Akiyuki Nosaka with translation by Ginny Tapley Takemori and illustrations by Mika Provata-Carlone is a collection of stories for children from a period of time at the end of World War II. These are stories of the bad things that can happen to children during wartime, so, reader, be warned.

The stories are all dated the 15th of August 1945, which is when Japan surrendered. The title story is about a whale that courts a submarine. The sailors tie their farewell notes to the whale, but the whale is never able to deliver them. In one story, a boy left in a bomb shelter discovers that his mother has turned into a kite. In another, a wolf takes in an abandoned child.

In all, things are bleak. There are bombed out cities, and not enough food. In come cases, the children have never had sweets because of rationing. In all cases, the children find something whimsical in their environs, but this is usually before bad things happen.

Children understand that bad things can happen, but whether these stories are right to read to your child is going to be your call. The themes are somber and nothing really funny or happy happens. The illustrations are sparsely drawn, but fit the story really well. I'm glad I got to read this story.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Pushkin Children's Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This book is surreal and devastating. Even though it's very short, it took me many months to read as I needed to have a break after each story. I loved it.