The Whale's Tale and the Otter's Side of the Story

Thursday Tides & Tales read aloud

I’ve always loved how Kate Messner plays with words, and “The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story”is such a clever and engaging example of that.

My Grade 3 students immediately began making connections to the Who Would Win? series, and the conversations that followed were wonderful to listen to. I asked them, “If you were the whale, what would you say to the otter?” and then reversed the question. Their background knowledge, empathy, and thinking honestly amazed me.

What makes this book so unique is its structure. Read it one way and you hear the whale’s perspective. Flip the book over and suddenly the otter’s side of the story changes everything. It becomes a fascinating reminder that perspective matters, and that every story holds more than one truth.

Filled with humour, wordplay, fascinating marine facts, and gorgeous illustrations by, this nature-inspired story opens the door to rich conversations about empathy, curiosity, and understanding others.

Stories like this show us that reading is about so much more than simply collecting facts. It is about learning to listen to another voice beneath the waves.