WHALE IS STUCK

Turning a playful somersault, Whale lands on an ice floe, and the efforts of the other animals (led by pompous Walrus) to shove, tip, or lift him off are to no avail; there he stays until, fortuitously, the sun melts the ice enough so that he falls through to rejoin his relieved friend Fish. Though smoothly told, the story is slight and overcontrived, but it does serve to showcase Fuge's appealing arctic animals—birds, seals, bears, dolphins, narwhal, etc., all sharply delineated and true to species while also exhibiting human concern and activity as they cooperate in trying to free their huge friend. (Picture book. 4- 8)