Deep by Stephen Hogtun

A wonderful addition to the numbers of books which show the world beneath the surface of the ocean, a sparse text is supported by luminous illustrations of the world we know little of. The depths of the ocean are intoxicating but the whale knows her way around, it is her home, and giving birth to a calf means she must teach her offspring what she knows.

Amongst the bubbles on each page can be found heart shapes, and musical notes, both pointing to layers of meaning within the story of a whale and her calf as she loves him beyond measure, singing to him as he grows.

In the deep a calf is born. His mother must guide him to the surface for his first breath of air, beginning her years of swimming with him in the ocean, teaching him, as he grows stronger.

Together they swim out into the larger waterways, she guiding him with love and patience. He sees a pod of whales, but she must show him that the time is not right for him to join the larger group, he still has things to learn. So they swim, sometimes in good weather, sometimes in bad, sometimes danger lurks in their way and she teaches him to avoid these. They see the stars at night, the auroras, and he eats getting bigger all the while, until it is time to return home. She notices how much bigger he has become, and that his body is too big for the shallow waters where once she taught him. Next time the pod heads away he goes with them.

Each step from birthing to his leaving, reveals the mother’s love for her offspring, and his love for her as she stays with him, guiding him to the day when he is able to swim without her.

A wonderful parallel to all mothers and their babies, children will love reading about the whale and what she does for her calf, aligning this with the supporting care shown by their own parents.

The illustrations are just breathtaking as the whales are shown in their changeable environment. The different hues of blue cover each page, showing the seas from different vantage points. Sometimes we are taken beneath the ocean’s surface sometimes we bask on the sea with them, some waves are slow and calm, others wild and unsettling, some cold while others appear warmer, but all revealing the many changes in the oceans they travel through. Readers will love seeing the bond between the calf and its mother, marvel at the range of blues and look at the ocean with a different eye: it is an environment which must be kept pristine for those that live in it. 

Themes: Whales, Environment, Life cycle, Mothers and babies.

Fran Knight