The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story

Ostensibly a marine mammal smackdown, this neatly engineered picture book from Messner (Once upon a Book) and Biggs (Hard Hat Hank and the Sky-High Solution) also offers an eye-opening lesson on how rhetoric can be turned on its head. A whale and an otter stand at opposing microphones, each determined to prove who’s “absolutely, positively cooler” by marshalling a bevy of scientific facts. The whale touts its species’ teamwork and communicative singing, the otter notes how its brethren stick together and hold hands while they sleep, and both claim to be superior parents and vital contributors to the ocean ecosystem. The kicker? When the book is read from front to back, the whale’s argument seems most convincing; when read from back to front, the otter gains the upper paw. Digital artwork in coral, navy, and teal amplifies this battle of perspectives with a boldly graphic screen-print aesthetic that feels as direct and punchy as the animals’ competing claims, while scattered dots, splatters, and flowing lines evoke habitat details. It’s a comical back-and-forth that contemplates themes of perception, perspective, and messaging. An author’s note offers more about the included species. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)