Title: The boy and the whale shark
Author: Cayla Lewis
ISBN: 9780637009140
Publisher: LAPA
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“When you stop hiding (from yourself), something EXTRAORDINARY finds you.”
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When I saw this book’s cover and title, I was filled with nostalgia, as it reminded me of Free Willy, a film that was released in 1993. The adventure of the boy who met an orca and also faced emotional struggles in the film was one of my best memories growing up as a teenager.
The cover of the book was designed by Cayla Lewis, who is also the author and illustrator of the book. This is her debut. Ben has a skin condition, and he always wears long-sleeved clothing when he goes to the ocean, to hide this from others. He loves to kayak and is very good at it – so good that he wants to join the kayaking club and take part in a race, but the club shirt is short-sleeved.
This is a big problem Ben has to face in the book, as he is very self-conscious due to his skin condition. He first deflects and says on page six that he isn’t good enough: “I really wanted to join the club – like, REALLY – but I didn’t want to wear the uniform of shorts and a T-shirt. Anyhow, I doubted I would be good enough.”
While kayaking on his own one day, he meets a whale shark. The author manages to weave some scientific information about the animal and the ocean into the story, without making it sound like information dumping. It happens naturally, as on page 19: “It was a whale shark! My dad told me that whale sharks are gentle and only eat plankton and small creatures.”
She also manages to make the boy relate to the whale shark with regard to his skin condition. “(I)ts skin felt like sandpaper. Up close, its white spots shone brightly against his body. I looked at the spots on my stretched out arm peeking from my sleeve. ‘You and I both have spots,’ I said” (21).
Ben also tells his friend, Sipho, about meeting the whale shark, but Sipho does not believe him at first. This is weaved throughout the book, as Ben tries to make it his mission to convince everyone that he wasn’t seeing things like they thought he was.
In a world where we are regularly faced with body shaming and bullying due to appearances, this book allows us to talk to children openly about these important themes and how to deal with them. Ben himself wishes that he did not have the skin condition (35): “I wished with all my heart that I did not have psoriasis. Then people wouldn’t think I was weird or treat me differently.” This is also apparent from the way one of the boys from the kayaking club spread a rumour: “If anyone touched him for more than ten seconds, they would get leprosy and their fingers and toes would fall off.”
As he gets to know the whale shark and they experience some adventures, she helps him overcome his self-consciousness by being brave. One of the incidents is when she protects him from a shark attack.
He also has a very good support system in the book, as shown when he eventually manages to talk about his fear of rejection to his aunt. She gives him good advice: “Who you are is much more important than what is on your skin. The only way to overcome a fear is to face it head on” (48).
I also enjoyed the mental images the author managed to provide of the underwater sea world – although I wish she had written a few more of those, or extended the ones she wrote about Ben going diving and swimming with the whale shark. As this is a children’s book, suitable for children eight years and older – and not all children have the privilege of growing up near the ocean or going snorkelling – extending these images might have made them feel more entrenched in the worldbuilding of the book.
This book is a reminder to everyone that one sometimes has to dig into one’s own heart and accept oneself and one’s flaws, whether internal or external, as this is where one’s true power lies. And what the world thinks or says should not keep one from embracing one’s true self and taking part in activities that one enjoys.
Kommentaar
Wat 'n fantastiese resensie. Gaan definitief die boek lees - hoop hy is op Kindle - en dit daarna moontlik vir my kleindogter in Engeland koop. Dankie, Etricia!