Journey of the Humpbacks – Perfect Picture Book Friday

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Folks, you don’t have to be a whale-lover to love this book! And if you’re not, you may be by the time you finish reading it. Enthusiasm is contagious, because the fabulous note about the book’s creators states: “This book was made by a team of people who love whales.” Yes, the word “team” includes the author and illustrator and three named researchers who get their own fun bios, but I want to note that the copyright page includes a very important sixth person, the translator, Lawrence Schimel. A book can be elevated to the sublime by its translation, and I think he’s done that here.

The title page pays tribute to the three researchers as they head out in a small boat to find whales. I love the whimsical nature of these explorers, how they resemble the stick figures drawn by children. It’s a fun touch that threads throughout the book.

The opening invites the reader to follow migrating humpbacks, a journey that doesn’t “need a backpack or shoes,” just “wide open” eyes. Cue the page turn and an eye of a…whale.

The texture of this illustration makes me want to touch the page. And that eye. Oh my. Next page.

Throughout the narrative, the translation shines. Here’s a small section:

Beyond the southernmost tip of land on the planet, beneath a gray sky that

seems to hand down low over the earth, there is a channel of ocean that lies

between Antarctica and a chain of islands. This is the Gerlache strait. Here

there are peaks of rocks covered in snow, reflected in a calm sea where small

islands of ice float. Below this water mirror is another world, one where even

the heaviest animal can fly.

Oh, I am smitten! What a gorgeous way to submerse the reader in the world of humpbacks! And yes, the rest of the narrative is just as descriptive and lyrical. But the book also offers up additional factual information in entertaining ways. Check out the recto page here, where a humpback is busy consuming its daily feast:

The visual, coupled with the engaging narrative shows how humpbacks fit in the ocean’s food web, what they take in and then give back to the ocean, and how they fight climate change. We need whales, y’all!

Yes, this book is beautifully written, whimsically-illustrated, and filled with facts that will keep kids enthralled. Older kids will have much to chew on, while a discerning parent, teacher, or librarian can choose what they’d like to share with the younger crowd. Wordless spreads also give the reader a little breathing room (and add a little humor), along with two “Have you ever wondered?” sidebars.

Depending on the spread, the focus of the text varies from specifics about the whales (their anatomy, feeding habits, the way they breathe, how they fit into the ocean’s food web, how they reproduce, and a bit more about how humpbacks fit into the baleen whale family) to maps of their ocean journey that orient the reader along the way. But (I can’t emphasize enough) the narrative of the journey never loses its scene-setting lyricism.

I love the growing list of children’s nonfiction picture books that are beautiful in words and pictures, while also being engaging and factually precise. Gorgeous!

Activities:

Pair this book with Life After Whale by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Jason Chin and/or Whale Fall by Melissa Steward, illustrated by Rob Dunlavey. These two books are about how whales contribute to the ocean ecosystem once it dies. Compare one or both of these books to Journey of the Humpbacks. How are they similar? and different?

Roughly trace the outlines of continents from a large wall-size world map, using flipchart paper. Try to label the continents from memory. Color in the ocean and the continents, so one looks like water and the other land. Make origami whales and glue them along migration routes. Use the routes from the book as a reference. Add labels to show where the whales breed and where they feed. Make origami krill, herring/sardines, and copepods to fill the feeding grounds and baby whales swimming with their mamas in the breeding grounds.

Make a copy of one of the pages of narrative and turn the text into a blackout poem. Read through the page of text and circle interesting words. You can also leave other connecting words like “a,” “the,” “and,” “or,” etc. if you like. Now mark out the words you don’t want and leave the ones you do. There’s no rule for how many works you mark out. You can even add a picture element, if you like. Check out this SparkCreativity website to show you how.

Title: Journey of the Humpbacks

Author: Juliana Muñoz Toro

Illustrator: Dipacho

Translator: Lawrence Schimel

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025

Themes: humpback whales, migration, biology

Ages: Elementary through middle school

For more perfect picture book recommendations, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.