Stardiving by Andrew Plant

The image on the front cover, that of a whale surrounded by bubbles in the deep black ocean will impel readers to turn the pages of this wonderful story of finding stars where you least expect them. Fluke, the young sperm whale listens to the dolphins as they tumble and turn over the pod of whales in the ocean. They tell Fluke to come and see the sky, and he looks up and can see the sun. But this is not good enough for the dolphins who tell him he could see the stars. That night Fluke lies near the surface of the water waiting to see stars, but clouds blurr his view. The old bull whale, Cachalot questions his desire to see stars, saying he is not a dolphin, but must be himself. He tells him to dive and dive, and in doing so he dives to the deep black of the ocean and sees stars. The glimmer of the creatures at the bottom of the ocean is simply wonderful. Fluke has come to see that he can see stars anytime, he simply needs to look in the right place.

A mixture of acrylic paints and watercolour pencils and pens were used to create the stunning images in this book. The deep blues and blacks of the ocean are mesmerising, the contrast between the seas and deep oceans captivating as Plant uses his talents to perfection. The shock of the shimmering creatures at the bottom of the ocean will delight younger readers and they will clamour for more information about these animals.

Readers will love learning more about whales and along the way learn about the importance of being yourself.

More about this Melbourne based illustrator can be found here. Teacher's notes are available.

Themes: Whales, Ocean, Self image.

Fran Knight