review from SLJ

MANTCHEV, Lisa. Someday, Narwhal. illus. by Hyewon Yum. 40p. S. & S./Paula Wiseman Bks. Oct. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9781481479707.

PreS-Gr 1–The little narwhal from Strictly No Elephants gets her own story and it starts out relatively short. “The world doesn’t look very exciting from inside a fishbowl. Red front door. Potted plant. Umbrella stand. Piano.” Repeat. However, she dreams of seeing the big, wide world beyond her fishbowl. If only she had feet! One day, her boy brings home his friends and their pets, and together they come up with a plan to make the little narwhal’s dreams come true. As in the first story, there is a sweetness and simplicity to the tiny animal’s dilemma and to her friends’ solution. The colored pencil and gouache illustrations depict characters with a variety of skin tones; both human and animal faces are wonderfully expressive. VERDICT Equally good as a stand-alone or for fans of the first book.–Kelly Roth, Bartow County Public Library, Cartersville, GA