A poetic picture book details how much can be seen when the search for one thing leads to the discovery of others. The search for a whale starts with a window, and an ocean and "time for waiting and time for looking and time for wondering 'is that a whale?' " (No, it's a bird.) There are all those roses to ignore, "and all their pink / and all their sweet / and all their wild and their waving" to not notice. Don't pay any attention to the small green inching insect, "keep both eyes on the sea." Julie Fogliano's lyrical narrative is as much about daydreaming as it is about what can be literally seen, and as much about having the time and the figurative space to let imaginations wander as it is about meeting a concrete goal. Erin E. Stead brings a light touch to the art with her soft palette and delicate lines in a book that's small in size but has an expansive feel. The possibilities-like the ocean itself-seem endless. (Ages 3-6)

If you want to see a whale, you will need to know what not to look at.

Pink roses, pelicans, possible pirates . . .

If you want to see a whale, you have to keep your eyes on the sea, and wait . . .

and wait . . . and wait . . .

In this quiet and beautiful picture book by Julie Fogliano and Erin E. Stead, the team that created the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor book And Then It's Spring, a boy learns exactly what it takes to catch a glimpse of an elusive whale. This title has Common Core connections.

A Neal Porter Book

A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2013
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013