Maybe a Whale - Kirsten Pendreigh

\nAfter Grandpa dies, a girl and her mother take the trip he had planned for her, kayaking along the Pacific west coast to look for the whales that he loved.\n \nThe trip will do them good, Mom says, but the girl isn't sure. How can that be true when Grandpa isn't there? And how will they find a whale in all that water, anyway?\n \nThere is so much to see as they paddle through white-tipped waves and calm coves: glowing moon jellies, fluttering anemones and slippery seals. All the while, the girl watches for whales. Could one be swimming beneath their kayak or along the shore of their camp? Are the whales even there? \n \nFinally, in the dark of night, they hear them -- pushhhhhhhh, pushhhhhhh -- humpbacks breathing in the bay. \n \nIn this lyrical story, luminously illustrated by Crystal Smith, mom and daughter find the space to grieve Grandpa and reconnect with each other in the wild beauty of nature. And they come to realize that -- perhaps like whales -- those we've loved are always with us, even if we don't see them anymore.\n \n \n \nKey Text Features\n \nillustrations\n \n \n \nCorrelates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: \n \nCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3\n \nDescribe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.\n \nCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4\n \nIdentify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.\n \nCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7\n \nUse illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.\n