In Lucas's (Halibut Jackson
) books, readers are carried to places where curious events unfold with comfortable matter-of-factness. This time, a gamboling whale accidentally flattens the seaside town where Joe and his Grandma May live, and Joe has to figure out how to save everyone. When they realize that that the whale outside is blocking the door, Grandma May puts on her “Going Out Hat” and grabs her umbrella. “Right, come on, then,” she says gamely. “Up the chimney!” The gigantic whale fills many of the double-page, full-bleed spreads; he's a deep Mediterranean blue, and his skin is covered with a multitude of tiny calligraphic markings. Joe and Grandma May gather with the Mayor and the other wooden-doll townspeople on the whale's back, awaiting advice from the Innumerable Stars. The stars recommend that the townspeople sing, and the flood that results from their rendition of “The Rain Song” successfully floats the whale away from town, but submerges it in the process. The help of another group of creatures is required to rebuild: “An army of fiddler crabs marched up the beach and set about making the town more beautiful than ever before.” In an era when natural disasters may loom large in children's minds, Lucas seems to offer the vision of a problem that—at least between the covers of a book—can be solved with careful consultation, cooperation and the judicious use of fiddler crabs. Ages 5–8. (June)
