THE BIG ADVENTURES OF LITTLE O

A young orca’s search for salmon turns into a magical odyssey in Hanna’s debut illustrated chapter book.

Over the course of this brief tale, a whale named Little O braves dangers and unfamiliar seas to find his mother, his pod mates, and the life-giving salmon that have disappeared from the whales’ usual feeding grounds. At various points, he’s threatened by a vicious killer whale who attacks and eats his own kind; he meets a helpful porpoise and a humorous otter; and he gets tangled in some flotsam and rescued by a great blue heron. He also befriends a salmon-seeking grizzly cub, and finds that he can speak with a soulful, light-skinned human named Ruby. The whale encounters the girl as she sails under the night sky and prays to the moon for the salmon to come back. (How humans factor into the ocean’s changes is present but subtly handled.) Little O finds comfort and inspiration in mystical, dream-time sojourns, which involve communing with Mother Nature, flying through the sky, and running through the forest in the form of a human boy. The book leans heavily into the formulaic uplift of slogans such as “follow your heart” and “embrace who you are.” However, Hanna, a poet and visual artist based in British Columbia, goes deeper, with vivid descriptive language; for instance, Little O, in his boy form, touches the clouds, “tugs at the fog, like picking apples from a tree, and scatters the fragile blossoms of white far below.” Throughout, the author communicates empathy and respect for nature through Little O’s adventures and reveals how the disappearance of salmon affects other creatures, including people. The cycle-of-life message at the end is deeply moving, and Hanna’s color illustrations are expressive, with delicate watercolor tints and curving, decorated shapes.

An emotional story with a relatable animal protagonist and gentle messages about the interconnectedness of all life.