A Garden of Whales

A rhythmic text and lush illustrations that feature cavorting, majestically powerful whales. The poetic, somewhat surreal quality of the story is appealing. -- Horn Book Guide

This tale of deliverance unfurls in luscious prose that rolls trippingly off the tongue... With her effulgent oil pastel illustrations O'Connell fully enters Davis's dream and strikingly echoes the fluent reverie. This is a bedtime read-aloud that will set heads nodding. -- Publishers Weekly

First published in 1993, A Garden of Whales is one of our most popular children's books. It is the story of a boy's fantasy of saving the whales -- a strong conservation theme carried with the empowering message that children's dreams are the roots of action.

Last night in my tub, in my tub while I scrubbed, I dreamed that I lived in the sea with the Whales. Magnificent Whales. Mysterious Whales. Mystical, Musical, Mountainous Whales.

The narrator of this tale is a boy who knows that whales are magnificent but endangered creatures. He wants to do anything he can to save them, and as he scrubs in his bathtub, he dreams up a plan to save the whales.

Children from all over the world also get in their bathtubs to save the whales, planting a garden of whales. He knows this is a fantasy, but the dreams of children are the roots of action, and action changes the world.

Maggie Steincrohn Davis is the author of over 10 books for readers of all ages, including Glory! To the Flowers. She lives in East Blue Hill, Maine.

Jennifer Barrett O'Connell is a freelance illustrator whose projects include educational materials and books for children. She is a graduate of the Philadelphia College of Art and lives in Bethesda, Maryland.