Susumu Shingu

Susumu Shingu's Wandering Whale Sharks is an evocative, poetic, children's book. The color palette is simple but bold, restricted to black, white, and vivid blues. The often saturated, solid backgrounds provide distinction to the fine lines of the illustrated sea life, and the use of light and dark artfully recreate the sense of being underwater and the immeasurable vastness of the ocean. The combination of simplicity and intricacy works beautifully together, and the book has an almost eerie sense of depth. Accompanying the stunning illustrations, Shingu's text is poetry, mimicking the graceful lines and movement of the whale shark itself. The sparse text flows effortlessly, and the reader is transported from the relatively safe position of ruler of their dominion as a human being to the humble observer of an enormous, majestic creature. Wandering Whale Sharks is unfettered of any distracting tables or features, focusing rather on the spirit and emotion of the whale shark as a living being; however, a short description at the end of the book gives a little more detail for older readers. Shingu creates a serene, calming story perfect for introducing a study of nature for any young child.… (meer)