Calling the Whales - Jasbinder Bilan - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Jasbinder Bilan

ILLUSTRATOR: Skylar White

GENRE: Middle-Grade Adventure.

RATING: 4.5 stars

In a Nutshell: A brilliant middle-grade story that combines friendship and love for nature into a powerful, adventurous narrative.

Story Synopsis:

Tulsi and Satchen, best friends, are making the best of their school vacation to go on a moonlight excursion up Craig Hill. While there, they see a strange ripple in the ocean and decide to go there the next day in their boat to investigate. To their surprise, they discover.... (You can guess the rest from the title and cover, and from these clues: whale, net, storm, rescue)

The story comes to us in the first person perspective of Tulsi.

This book contains an impressive story that impacts on the personal as well as social level. It has elements of adventure, environment and thrill.

The story is set in the imaginary location of Craig Hill, which is modelled after the North Berwick hill in Scotland. It makes great use of the setting, with the scenic beauty and the oceanic wonders, and dangers, adding a fabulous atmosphere to the plot.

The most impactful theme of the book is its stress on saving the environment. It highlights several repercussions of human activities on animals and the oceans. When Satchen states, “We can’t wait around for the adults to take action”, I felt pride as well as shame. What kind of a world are we leaving for our kids? We’ve made a mess of it and now they are feeling the pressure of cleaning up behind us. Such kind of books are needed to create more awareness not just among kids but also for adults who still act as if the entire planet is their dump yard.

The adventure that Tulsi and Satchen embarked upon was quite dangerous. That’s why I loved how the book stressed on their safety in two ways: one - by showing how they were well-prepared and attentive before embarking on and during their voyage, and two - by depicting their parents reprimanding them for handling such a dangerous task without adult help. I truly appreciate this point because adventure stories must also highlight the importance of careful and responsible behaviour, and this book does exactly that.

Tulsi and Satchen are both supportive and respectful of each other. I loved how their friendship was based on an equal footing. Their concern for Satchen’s new baby sister, who was born premature, adds a level of poignancy to the proceedings. The best thing is that the kids sound their age, which would be about 11-12 years.

Tulsi, as you might have guessed by the name, is a Hindu girl possibly of Indian origin. She isn’t used simply to add diversity to the book, nor is her skin colour or ethnicity dwelled upon. Rather, she is treated as a regular child character, with one scene making use of her heritage to enhance the emotions of a plot-point. I loved the way she was written.

Every children’s book benefits with the presence of memorable illustrations, and this one is no exception. I adored the richly detailed B&W illustrations by Skylar White. The story is outstanding on its own, but the illustrations turn the book into a must-have.

There are two notes at the end of the book – one providing facts about humpback whales and one by the author, penning her reasons behind writing this book. Both are worth a read.

The book is written in the Hi-Lo style typical to this publishing house, with the story being aimed at middle graders, but with the reading age being 8 years, thus making the story accessible to a wider audience.

Definitely recommended to every little reader who loves animals and wonders what they can do to save the planet. Remember, no action is ever too small to make a difference.

My thanks to Barrington Stoke and NetGalley for the DRC of “Calling the Whales”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.