Dear Greenpeace

by Simon James

Excellent Book

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Environment, Nature, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Simon James is the award-winning author-illustrator of many children’s books, including such favorites as DEAR GREENPEACE, LEON AND BOB, and the Baby Brains series. His stories often concern a child’s relationship with the natural world. Simon James lives in England.

Reviews

[oliviasbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Dear Emily,

I must point out to you quite forcibly now that in no way could a whale live in your pond. You may not know that whales are migratory, which means they travel great distances each day. I am sorry to disappoint you.

Yours sincerely,

Greenpeace.”



Although Emily receives unquestionably polite but incredulous answers like this one each time she writes, she does not stop pestering Greenpeace for advice. For there is a huge, blue whale in her pond in Plymouth, Devonshire, England, and who would be more capable of helping her make him feel comfortable than the famous experts on all things wildlife and environmental?

I remember picking up this wonderful picture book by the British illustrator Simon James in the 90s, when I was backpacking England and already had dangerously overloaded my backpack with dusty paperbacks and alltime picture book favorites like Me First. Reluctantly I resorted to just jotting down the bibliographic details and stuffing away the paper with an epic sigh. Because seventeen years ago I already loved each of Emily’s letters – flourishly signed with “Love Emily” -, because she never resents Greenpeace their inability to believe the unbelievable. She just sifts through the lines she receives and picks out the usable facts, like the whale’s need for saltwater, its preference for tiny-sized nourishment and its urge to go from place to place. She even reads the letters to her new friend and comes to understand why he might feel a bit restricted and sad.

Now after finally buying a copy to keep I wish I could borrow a piece of Emily’s cheerful tenacity, which refuses her to be disappointed just because someone suggested she might be so. And I hope that I’ll be always not quite grown-up enough to say something stupid like “There is this cute book about that whale-loving kid with a too vivid imagination.” I want to remain that adult who states: “Let me introduce resourceful Emily. She’s got a whale! In her pond! And she exactly knows who to ask for information without even having to involve her parents.”

An interesting thing that I discovered while chosing the correct edition to match my copy here at Goodreads was that the American “translation” not only transports the story from Plymouth to Nantucket (understandable) but it also replaces Greenpace for Emily’s teacher, Mr. Blueberry, which also calls for a different title (Dear Mr. Blueberry). It makes me a bit sad, because Greenpeace and whales are such a great match. And it makes me wonder why the publisher had this essential environmental beacon of our time deleted out of the script. Is Greenpeace an institution not sufficiently known to American prescoolers? Or is Greenpeace an institution American parents do not want their kids to become penpals with? I vividly recollect my own childhood which included the Greenpeace members’ magazine gracing the footstool next to the toilet and my parents making me study the alarming pictures and encouraging me to part from a little of my pocket money to help safe the Aral Sea from drying out or the Siberian tiger from going extinct. I really hope Emily of Plymouth, Devonshire, born in the early 90s of the last century, does not represent the end of something good and necessary.

Bought and re-read in March 2012.

[Hákon Gunnarsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emily finds a whale in her pond, so she writes to Greenpeace for some advice on what to do about that. For some reason they don’t believe her, but give her some information about the species anyway.

I find this quite funny actually. It’s got a silly plot, where I really have to agree with the Greenpeace writer that keeps replying to Emily’s letters, but it is funny, and educational to some degree.

[Nickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and thought provoking story which would be ideal for many topics and themes: animals and their habitats, the environment, looking after the world around us - to name but a few. This story encourages empathy and care of animals and the world around us and in could provoke some powerful thoughts and writing from children.
A story that all children should know.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simon James is an award winning author and illustrator. I saw the reviews and thought I will get this book for my kids. This is a simple story, written in letter format. This illustrations are lovely.
It s about Emily who writes to Greenpeace regarding a whale she saw in her pond. She asks for more information on whales.
Greenpeace responds with the information. Greenpeace tries to emphasise that the whale wouldn't be living in a pond over a course of many letters. I must admit, initially I was wondering how it will end. I like the ending very much. Emily reads the letters from Greenpeace to her whale who she named Arthur. Then one day he disappears. Greenpeace responds saying perhaps when she is older she would like to sail the oceans studying and protecting whales with Greenpeace. The last letter is Emily saying she saw Arthur at the sea side, she told him she loves him and Greenpeace loves him too!
A simple message. So beautifully conveyed. There is no scenario where the child is lying. Or by some magical twist there really was a whale. It is up to the reader to interpret it as he wishes. I love the story. I love the message behind it. I love the idea of protecting our animals being instilled in children.
This is indeed a beautiful book. Simple, but it touches the heart.

[Elizabeth Jamieson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fantastic book! I have used this in class to discuss environmental issues surrounding Greenpeace, who they are and the work they do. Great discussion points about animals, migration and their habitats, and also what humans are unfortunately doing to their habitats through plastic pollution in the oceans and deforestation. GREAT book.

Could also write their own letters to green peace, voicing their concerns and the actions they would like to see them taking.

[Harriet Themans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book.
Used for a unit of work in class linking environmental ideas (who are Greenpeace, what do they do) and letter writing in Literacy. Notice differences in formality between the little girl and Greenpeace, text and handwritten fonts effectively applied and sweet illustrations.

[Mairéad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant book for primary teachers to have in their arsenal. Perfect for lessons on letter writing or as the prompt for project work on animals this adorable picture book will have all ages of pupils enthralled from start to finish.

[Emma Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story comprises of several letters between a young girl called Emily and Greenpeace regarding a whale that lives in her pond. Emily begins by requesting information on whales as she thinks she may have seen one in her pond. She explains to Greenpeace that she loves whales and thinks that the one she has spotted may be hurt. Greenpeace respond that Emily must be wrong as whales live in salt water, and so Emily replies that she has now added salt to her pond, every day before school. The letters continue to be sent with Emily sharing more information about the whale each time, and although Greenpeace do provide her with information, they continue to persist that there is no way that a whale could e living in the Emily’s pond. Eventually Emily writes to say that her whale, now named Arthur, has gone but writes a final letter to Greenpeace to say that she saw him at the beach and how much she loves him.

This story is filled with lovely illustrations on each page along with the next letter that has been delivered. I read this story with a year 3 class, and allowed them to consider the feelings of Emily. They were able to consider the possibilities of there being a whale in the pond and also how they may have responded if they were writing on behalf of Greenpeace. Pupils were able to consider how Emily might have felt at each stage in the story, including when she received letters from Greenpeace which refuted her claims. I think that this story could be used alongside a literacy topic on letter writing or diary entries to support children’s understanding of how letters are written, in what tense and what kind of information is included in them. Although I read this story with year 3, I believe that children as young as year 1 may appreciate the actual story.

[Joanna Marple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short, tactile picture book had me under its charm form page one. It is written in the form of letters (about which I am still romantic), from a little girl who believes she has found a whale in her garden pond. With great concern and sense, Emily writes to Greenpeace to seek the society’s advice on how she should look after her whale.

The essence of the humour in this story stems from Greenpeace’s replies, each one a little more adamant that there is absolutely “NO” possibility of a large sea mammal residing in a garden pond. Emily is completely undeterred and continues seeking advice out of concern for her whale, and her replies are just as hilarious. The beautiful illustrations capture the enchantment of childhood and let the reader in on the fact that Emily and her whale are enjoying time together!

Let me give you a taste. One of Greenpeace’s first attempts to convince Emily that she can’t have seen a whale in the pond, is to point out that they cannot survive in fresh water. Needless to say, their second reply exhorts Emily to desist from adding more salt to the pond for risk of parental displeasure. Emily, quite unconcerned, continues her queries. Children will adore opening up the sturdy little envelopes glued to every other page and reading Emily’s eloquent and enthralling questions on how to care for Arthur.

This is a magical little story about wildlife, ecology and even touches on loneliness, as many of the illustrations have Emily alone in her preoccupation, with family life hurrying on around her.

The lovely ending, which I shall not spoil, may require a kleenex!

For ages 4-7

[Tina Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a whale living in Emily’s pond, or so she believes, so she writes to Greenpeace for advice on how to look after him. Greenpeace politely reply that a whale living in a garden pond is an impossibility, but Emily is determined. ‘Dear Greenpeace’ is a story made up of a series of (fictional) letters, the correspondence between a little girl and the huge charity organisation, tracking the progress of Emily and her beloved whale. As Greenpeace’s replies become more and more adamant that Emily is mistaken, Emily’s rebuttals become more insistent and amusing.

The comic book style illustrations are charming and humorous and the vocabulary is just ambitious enough in places. My year 1 class thoroughly enjoyed having this read to them during ‘story time’ - as did I! It’s a very touching story with an environmental message. If you haven’t read it yet, please do.

[Leke Akinyemi]

The text font was a good idea, as it helps differentiate between the letters between Emily and Greenpeace. It was nicely applied.

I had quite a bit of empathy towards Emily as she was sure she had not only seen the whale but had claimed to looking after and protecting the whale.

Her unusual will to remain calm and persistent in her letters was interesting as you would think she would gauge an annoyance of some sort from Greenpeace. Her ignorance was pretty sweet.

[Stef Rozitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is clever and fun. How James gives so much information without seeming remotely info-dumpy is pretty clever. I want to get my own copy of this book now (and I love whales anyway)

[Anna Lloyd]

This enchanting book tells the story of a young girl who finds a whale in her pond. She decides to write to Greenpeace to help her with her predicament. This book is a great example of children taking action and writing letters to help wildlife in danger. The beautiful illustrations and the humour of the story, make this an exciting introduction into wildlife and environmental issues but also in the art of letter writing. With emails now being the most common form of written communication, the importance of being able to write a good letter is something that as a teacher I would still wish for children to engage with.

Simon James wrote on the first page that, “If this book has encouraged children to write letters highlighting their concerns about wildlife - or anything else they feel strongly about - then that can only be a good thing.” As a teacher I would love to use this as a letter writing exercise, looking at the structure of the letters and comparing the language in Emily’s to the more formal language from Greenpeace. For example Emily always ends her letters with ‘love’ whereas Greenpeace uses the formal ‘yours sincerely’. You could use the book to model different types of letters and could end with the class writing a letter to Greenpeace, or an environmental organisation of their choice.

The book also highlights the important work that Greenpeace does. Looking at the scientific advice Greenpeace gives to Emily, ‘Blue whales are blue and they eat tiny shrimp-like creatures that live in the sea.” shows they are experts in their field but are always willing to share their knowledge with children. The contrast between the scientific language used by Greenpeace and the conversational tone of Emily’s letters with short sentences, ‘I think I should call him Arthur, what do you think?’ can be compared when studying the language of different letters.

The book also highlights the exciting opportunities that Greenpeace can offer, ‘Perhaps when you are older you would like to sail the oceans studying and protecting whales with us.’ The forlorn Emily sitting on her bed now has hope of adventure and protecting whales like Arthur which takes the sting out of him leaving. Her room surrounded by posters and books of whales shows how she has continued her learning and has been studying already. Showing children that there are jobs where you can study the things you are passionate about is also a really important message.

We never find out if Emily really did see a whale in her pond. I would like to think she did find Arthur in her garden and fed him cornflakes and stroked his head. I think the children would also like to believe this too as we form an attachment to Arthur throughout the book. This could easily lead on to a study about whales themselves and the journeys they take through the ocean when they go on migration. The children could imagine where Arthur goes next and continue his story as he travels through the waves.

Simon James notes in the first page, ‘I feel the plight of the natural world is an issue which needs the voices of the young.’ The message that young people only need to use a pen and paper to help save animals is an incredibly inspiring one, and something I would love to bring to the classroom.

[n · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to first disclose that I am, for the most part, set against Greenpeace. They have done a lot that I find to be harmful, especially as they rarely focus on how to actually help already marginalised communities (such as not discriminating between the Japanese whale hunting and the indingenous whale hunting, which have different functions) and have had members actively harm places of cultural significance (Nazca Lines, for instance).

I think this book would've been more interesting if the child were writing a marine biologist and not Greenpeace. Because of that choice, it feels fluffy and like an organisation doesn't care about a child's imagination? It's weird. I don't like it as it is, and it could've been done far better.

There's really not a story, and the facts about whales are... boring. There's nothing that feels engaging, especially to hook kids into wanting to be interested in environmentalism and conservation. This book does pretty much nothing.

[Ella Simms · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny, simple and wholly enjoyable story, with super sweet illustrations.
Love the letter format, different writing styles and different fonts used to illustrate Emily's and Greenpeace's communication, a great book to promote letter writing to children in the classroom.
The environmental focus is very relevant- could be adapted into a variety of lesson plans- focus on animal migration, researching types of animals, looking into work of environmental charities (what can I do to help?) etc.
A great book, glad I have it up my sleeve!

[Sophie Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute short story about a little girl called Emily who finds a whale in her pond so writes to Greenpeace to ask them how she should care for it.

Its a great opportunity to look at simple letters with young children (focusing on Dear…, From…). It doesn’t provide too much information on whales however and isn’t intended to be educational but its a quirky story that children will find funny.

[Alice Rockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely book about a young girl who has found a whale in her pond and writes letters to Greenpeace on how to care for it. The enthusiasm in her letters is brilliant as even though Greenpeace keep telling her it is not possible that a whale is in her pond she refuses to believe them. The illustrations are wonderful and add great depth to the writing.

[Chui Ying · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book as part of a module on conservation, we talked about water pollution, endangered species which led into a conversation on other issues. I like that the book is present in the format of an exchange of written letters, this is a good lead into practicing letter writing as well.

[Liz Thorpe]

Book is written as a series of letters from Emily to Greenpeace and back. So would lead well to modelling writing letters to each other and writing quick responses so hopefully some back and for in the classroom.

[Elena Traduzioni Oceano Mare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute images, and I like the idea that Greenpeace is absolutely clueless about what’s really going on while the little girl is trying to tell them the truth. Unfortunately, from their snotty position they keep telling her that she is wrong.

[Smarika Bhattarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book beautifully captures curiosity, innocence, and care for nature it's simple, engaging, and works very well as a read-aloud, making it easy for children to connect with both the story and its emotions.

[Victoria Wardle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book.

[RhiannaH · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about a little girls determination that she has a whale in her pond, despite being told otherwise!

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like this one.

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be good for letter writing with a range of year groups.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personally I love this book.
Some of the younger children didn't really enjoyed this book.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book today following Reading Rocks. such a beautifully illustrated book. Written in the form of letters to and from a little girl (Emily) and Greenpeace.

Explores facts about whales, and there's an underpinning of the work Greenpeace do.

[Grace Duthie · Rating 5 out of 5]

* An introduction to letter writing for young children.
*Links to marine life, animal conservation, why do animals need protection?, what do Greenpeace do? etc.
* Imagination theme.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by Simon James, Dear Greenpeace is a short, fun picture book about a girl who wakes up to find there is a whale living in her garden pond. Emily is concerned for the whale, but Greenpeace do not believe her story, so she attempts to find a way to set the whale free herself. The story's style is unique, with the story told through the correspondence between Greenpeace and Emily through a serious of letters. This gives the story a very interesting conversational and personal feel and is a great feature of the story. This stoy tackles environmental issues and the subject of endangered species and animal welfare in a fun non preachy way, so is an excellent resource to introduce these issues to children in PSHE lessons. Also, its style lends itself to be used in Literacy as a hook into lessons where you are looking at the features of letter and persuasive writing.

[Rima Khanom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of letters between a little girl called Emily and Greenpeace. She informs Greenpeace that there is a whale living in her pond. But Greenpeace think she is mistaken and give her facts about whales i.e. where whales live etc. The illustrations are delightful and show the reader that in fact, Emily is telling the truth. The pictures also show Emily reading the letters she has received from Greenpeace, which is rather cute.The front cover of the book is in the form of an envelope with a stamp.
This book can be used in KS1 Literacy, where children learn how to compose a letter. It can also be used in science lessons when looking at animals that live in the sea.