The Whale Who Felt a Little Blue

by Isla Wynter

Some days, Luka the blue whale doesn’t feel happy at all. He gets angry, he’s sad, he cries until the ocean is salty.

His friend Jenny wants to help Luka, but how?

Luckily, a wise mermaid might know what to do…

This lovingly illustrated picture book gently introduces children to the symptoms of depression and gives advice on how to help others who’re feeling blue. A book not just for children.


This book is recommended for:

- Children with parents, siblings, friends or relatives suffering from depression
- Children who show symptoms of depression and low mood
- Adults of any age who want a simple and relatable insight into what it’s like to have depression.

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2021

About the author

​Isla Wynter lives in Scotland with a cute cat, a lonely pot plant (it used to be three) and a horde of imaginary friends.

She believes in unicorns and plans to one day convince the world of that fact. Even if she has to catch a unicorn herself.

Until then, she continues to write stories for children and young adults.

Reviews

[Michelle Sims]

Am I still reading "children's" books to fight off the big sads? Yes. But it's truly quite wholesome.

[Jessica Hawkins]

Really great book for children and parents! The Whale Who Felt A Little Blue is about a whale named Luka who occasionally deals with depression. It shows his emotions and his feelings and how sometimes he’s just not happy. It also shows what can be done to help support friends and family who go through this. This book would be really great for parents to help children navigate their own emotions and for them to be able to identify how they’re feeling. I read this with my own children and we had a really great discussion about our feelings and how we might work through heavy things like sadness and depression. The illustrations were really great, the mermaid concept was well liked by my daughter, the helpful list was another great discussion topic and it all just made for a great book. I would definitely recommend this to parents!

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

[Marichus Real]

Luka is a blue whale who feels sad most of the days. He has a friend called Jenny who wants to help him, but she doesn’t know to do it. She asks for help to a wise mermaid.
Depression is difficult to treat but following some of the advice the mermaid tells Jenny we can help our family or friends who happen to suffer this condition.
A great book for children and adults alike.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

[RaChelle Holmberg]

Received as a gift from an ARC program that I belong to, this was an adorable look at depression and sadness. I loved the art, with the use of difference in mood shades.

I am a grown up child, (supposedly), but am forever searching for age appro material to share with my traumatic brain injured adult son who lives in a special needs group home. We've been reading via FaceTime during the pandemic.

To the author : THANK YOU for this lovely addition.

[Bookish Mom]

Wonderful! A lovely tale that is very well illustrated and perfect for young children. Especially those who may struggle with depression or know someone who does. My three year old was engaged the entire time and I love how it taught her simple things to do if she ever knows anyone who might feel ‘blue like Luka’. A great way to have young ones understand depression! Definitely recommend.

[Becky]

A nice book that teaches about depression. What you might feel and do to help. Very good discussion book. Great appropriate illustrations.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.

[Karen Bendzus]

cute

[Jamie Bee]

Friends Helping Friends

The whale in this story feels more than a little blue. The blue whale (literally a blue whale!) at turns feels alone, sad, angry… and at times tries to shut himself away from the undersea world. But he is lucky to have a sperm whale friend who asks the ocean’s wisest mermaid what she can do to help her friend when he feels out of sorts. The mermaid provides a list of ideas and encourages the sperm whale to come up with ideas of her own. At the end of the book, the sperm whale tries the ideas, and of course, they work. Other than I wish the mermaid’s ideas weren’t in a list form, the book is lovely and could help friends help each other get past life’s rough patches. I like how the book encourages the reader to come up with their own ideas to help, too. After all, no two pairs of friends are the same! Some ideas/strategies are excellent for adults, too… and might even be helpful for a child to get past their own “blue” moods and days!

I received a free copy of this picture book, but that did not affect my review.

My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com

[Rhonda]

Wonderful book with great characters to help kids understand what depression is. Beautiful illustrations helped tell his story. Family should read this book together and discuss what is happening in the book. Good family read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.