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Isabel of the Whales #1
Isabel of the Whales
Eleven-year-old Isabel is a “plain old” girl living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who believes that she is destined to accomplish something special. When her fifth-grade class goes on a whale-watch field trip, something amazing Dozens of different species of whales surround the boat, bumping the deck and sending Isabel flying into the ocean. Isabel is shocked to hear the whales speaking to her—she is a mermaid, they tell her, a “Chosen One” who has the ability to turn from a human into a whale and back again. She is destined to live among the whales long enough to learn their ways, and teach them about the human world.
Living among her pod is fun, at first, but Isabel has an important mission. She will change the whales’ future forever, and learn a lot about herself in the process.
Living among her pod is fun, at first, but Isabel has an important mission. She will change the whales’ future forever, and learn a lot about herself in the process.
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Hester Velmans
23 books72 followersI make my living translating modern novels (French, Dutch into English), but my real love is reserved for writing my own brand of fiction. My latest is a historical novel, SLIPPER, which tells the story of Cinderella as if she had been a real-life historical character in the 17th century who meets the original author of the fairy tales, the little-known Charles Perrault. My two books for children won many fans: Isabel of the Whales and the follow-up, Jessaloup's Song . I also read everything I can get my hands on. I live in Western Massachusetts with my husband Peter, my dog Ruby and a few thousand bees.
Oh, and I have a website I hope you'll visit: http://www.Hestervelmans.com.
Oh, and I have a website I hope you'll visit: http://www.Hestervelmans.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
April 18, 2014
If you know a child interested in whales and/or the ocean, this book may be for them, especially if they do not mind an 11 year old girl protagonist and if they might enjoy mixing their ecological concerns with fantasy.
In the first chapter, when the main character, Isabel, was playing Truth or Dare with her friends Molly and Kristen, I really wondered if my son was going to let me read the entire book aloud. We made it, but I’m not so sure he would have on his own. There’s adventure, but a lot of it is based on wonder and marvelous encounters rather than life threatening events, though that occurs too in the last fifth or so of the story.
Basically, it tells you this on the blurb so I’m not spoiling anything, but Isabel is not an ordinary girl. Her interest in whales is not arbitrary. It turns out she is destined to turn into one, which she does fairly quickly.
Her adventures as a whale are interesting, especially as she adjusts and is welcomed into their ranks. In fact, they’d been expecting her! The description of her movements in the water and other experiences as a whale are smooth and lovely - bad writing never jerked me away from my visualizations of her underwater and surface-spouting new world. Even her conversations with the other whales, rendered as dialogue usually is, was fine.
For me, events dragged a little once Isabel got acclimated to her new life, even though I really wondered at times if she would remain a whale. The possibility made me tense actually. I really wondered, and forgive me for being species-ist, if remaining a whale would be satisfying after life as a, well, you know, technology-wielding, globe-trotting human being.
The pace does pick up again. A love interest develops. That actually brought out my New England puritanical discomfort a little, but probably did not go far enough to make most people squirm. Isabel follows the whales to their feeding “grounds”, then to their breeding “grounds”. You’d learn more from reading Moby Dick, I suppose, but this may actually get someone interested in tackling that classic someday. The first line of Isabel of the Whales is “Call me Isabel”.
In the first chapter, when the main character, Isabel, was playing Truth or Dare with her friends Molly and Kristen, I really wondered if my son was going to let me read the entire book aloud. We made it, but I’m not so sure he would have on his own. There’s adventure, but a lot of it is based on wonder and marvelous encounters rather than life threatening events, though that occurs too in the last fifth or so of the story.
Basically, it tells you this on the blurb so I’m not spoiling anything, but Isabel is not an ordinary girl. Her interest in whales is not arbitrary. It turns out she is destined to turn into one, which she does fairly quickly.
Her adventures as a whale are interesting, especially as she adjusts and is welcomed into their ranks. In fact, they’d been expecting her! The description of her movements in the water and other experiences as a whale are smooth and lovely - bad writing never jerked me away from my visualizations of her underwater and surface-spouting new world. Even her conversations with the other whales, rendered as dialogue usually is, was fine.
For me, events dragged a little once Isabel got acclimated to her new life, even though I really wondered at times if she would remain a whale. The possibility made me tense actually. I really wondered, and forgive me for being species-ist, if remaining a whale would be satisfying after life as a, well, you know, technology-wielding, globe-trotting human being.
The pace does pick up again. A love interest develops. That actually brought out my New England puritanical discomfort a little, but probably did not go far enough to make most people squirm. Isabel follows the whales to their feeding “grounds”, then to their breeding “grounds”. You’d learn more from reading Moby Dick, I suppose, but this may actually get someone interested in tackling that classic someday. The first line of Isabel of the Whales is “Call me Isabel”.
November 19, 2010
Magical and thought-provoking. Like Lee Welles' Way of Water from the Gaia Girls' series, this uses an imaginative approach to introduce and address issues of humanity's destruction of the seas. Isabel shapechanges into a whale and we get to experience, firsthand, the beauty and dangers of that life. The whales need protectors like Isabel, like Sea Shepherd, and this beautiful book will sweetly, tearfully recruit them, the whale warriors living in the hearts of compassionate, animal-loving children everywhere.
While not directly pagan, this book contains concepts of unity, equality, and wisdom among all of Earth's denizens. The whales learn from the human, the human learns from the whales, and they all feel the connection they share as parts of the same, infinite whole.
I cannot recommend this enough. Delightful, meaningful, perfect story.
While not directly pagan, this book contains concepts of unity, equality, and wisdom among all of Earth's denizens. The whales learn from the human, the human learns from the whales, and they all feel the connection they share as parts of the same, infinite whole.
I cannot recommend this enough. Delightful, meaningful, perfect story.
June 14, 2023
it’s an interesting story… if you’re a fifth grader lol
can definitely tell it’s for elementary schoolers, but the ending was heartwarming even though some of the other writing decisions were questionable
can definitely tell it’s for elementary schoolers, but the ending was heartwarming even though some of the other writing decisions were questionable
July 4, 2020
all I ever wanted as a kid was to be a mermaid and/or swim with dolphins, and this book was the closest I ever got to achieving it.
Isabel is a fifth grader obsessed with whales (relatable BUT dolphins are better) who goes on a whale-watching trip one day and falls overboard. instead of drowning she transforms into a whale, because as it turns out she is one of the Chosen Ones (there have been others, though not for a long, long time.) she travels with a family of humpback whales (who call themselves Sirens, and who call her, a human who can turn into a whale, a mermaid) who train her on how to eat, swim, communicate, and generally live as a whale. basically her dream come true, if she weren't so homesick.
important other main characters include her mentor Onijonah, who is more of a mother figure to her than anything, and her enemy-turned-friend-and-would-be-more-except-theyre-eleven-and-whales Jessaloup, who I JUST found out has his own sequel where he turns into a human and Isabel has to teach him how to be one! so I'm definitely buying that. like right now.
may not be an actual five star read to me now but it was a five star read when I was ten and that's all that matters
also shout out to all these whale names the author made up bc they sure are somethin: onijonah, jessaloup, tengapoul, momboduno, indigoneah, bickseye, limmertail, girlrut, trog, blossamer, dilgruel, feeonah, tomturan, delight, moonglim, mirgamel, boonkar, alahoran, kressurg, nobnose, labdullo, shelabor, falandrex, padragel, blinkrut, olgineah, and drabtail
Isabel is a fifth grader obsessed with whales (relatable BUT dolphins are better) who goes on a whale-watching trip one day and falls overboard. instead of drowning she transforms into a whale, because as it turns out she is one of the Chosen Ones (there have been others, though not for a long, long time.) she travels with a family of humpback whales (who call themselves Sirens, and who call her, a human who can turn into a whale, a mermaid) who train her on how to eat, swim, communicate, and generally live as a whale. basically her dream come true, if she weren't so homesick.
important other main characters include her mentor Onijonah, who is more of a mother figure to her than anything, and her enemy-turned-friend-and-would-be-more-except-theyre-eleven-and-whales Jessaloup, who I JUST found out has his own sequel where he turns into a human and Isabel has to teach him how to be one! so I'm definitely buying that. like right now.
may not be an actual five star read to me now but it was a five star read when I was ten and that's all that matters
also shout out to all these whale names the author made up bc they sure are somethin: onijonah, jessaloup, tengapoul, momboduno, indigoneah, bickseye, limmertail, girlrut, trog, blossamer, dilgruel, feeonah, tomturan, delight, moonglim, mirgamel, boonkar, alahoran, kressurg, nobnose, labdullo, shelabor, falandrex, padragel, blinkrut, olgineah, and drabtail
January 14, 2013
So I took this from my younger brother's bookshelf a few days ago and read it on a whim!
I wish the author had made Isabel a little older. It's ridiculous to have a relationship (with a whale) when you're eleven, and then hear the freaking whale love song of your life, AND then go on to have a human boyfriend when you're fourteen. Couldn't you have made her at least sixteen in the prologue, Hester Velmans? :( (I understand that there's a follow-up to this book, called Jessaloup's Song, but it just doesn't really make sense in this book.)
But anyway, to the point, I think this book does a really good job of educating kids on endangered whale species and the importance of marine life protection, all while weaving it into a good and refreshing story.
Overall, 3.9 stars! (Heehee) I'd have really enjoyed this book if I was younger, say, four or five years ago.
I wish the author had made Isabel a little older. It's ridiculous to have a relationship (with a whale) when you're eleven, and then hear the freaking whale love song of your life, AND then go on to have a human boyfriend when you're fourteen. Couldn't you have made her at least sixteen in the prologue, Hester Velmans? :( (I understand that there's a follow-up to this book, called Jessaloup's Song, but it just doesn't really make sense in this book.)
But anyway, to the point, I think this book does a really good job of educating kids on endangered whale species and the importance of marine life protection, all while weaving it into a good and refreshing story.
Overall, 3.9 stars! (Heehee) I'd have really enjoyed this book if I was younger, say, four or five years ago.
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May 26, 2015To call this book strong, poetic, or uplifting feels right. That is why I rated this book five stars. The main character Isabel is the girl that loves the ocean and so do I, so it really gave me a connection with her and the book. Also, Isabel is a girl that isn't afraid to show how she feels and that makes my day. Isabel goes through many hardships but she get through them with or without friends. This piece of writing is very persuasive and powerful. For example, during one time of the book Isabel was scared, sad, and she had fear all at once. The author gave me a really good idea on how Isabel was feeling and thinking. One thing I love about this book was it started to get into the action right away. So if you are looking for a book that will make your heart happy and your spine tingle at the same time, this is the book that you want to read.
July 20, 2016
11-year-old Isabel falls off a boat on a whale watching field trip and instead of drowning turns into a humpback whale. Her whale guide, Onijonah, explains that she is one of a select few humans who are turned into whales for a short period of time, sort of a whale exchange student program. She travels with the whales and eventually has to decide whether to stay with them or return to her human form. A cute, if predictable, story.
August 5, 2012
This is my favorite book ever! It makes me cry everytime I don't know why! I've read it 5 times and I can't get enough!
September 19, 2020
Meet Isabel: eleven years old, lives in Provincetown, Massachusetts, is obsessed with whales. She, like all little girls, feels she will someday become famous for something she will do. Her brothers did this in fifth grade and now it's her turn: to go whale watching! She's been waiting for the day. Finally, her class goes on a whale watch and something spectacular happens! A spate of whales, dozens of species appear, surrounding the boat. They slam against it and Isabel falls into the ocean. She can hear the whales speaking to her, telling her she is a Chosen One, a mermaid who can turn from a human into a humpback whale, and then become a human again. The whales tell her she is to live among them as a whale and learn about their world, gaining wisdom and knowledge along the way.
This is a fantastic book for girls and it teaches several things: to appreciate what you have, to trust yourself, and to learn what is unique and special about you.
This is a fantastic book for girls and it teaches several things: to appreciate what you have, to trust yourself, and to learn what is unique and special about you.
December 2, 2010
A favorite of mine, "Isabel of the Whales" is a typical story about an "average girl" who discovers she has magical powers and whatnot. However, I must say that, for another "magical girl" story, "Isabel" is wonderfully new and fresh, and it shines in its own dazzling way.
Most, if not all, the characters were well-developed, lovable, and most of all, memorable! The concept may be unheard of and weirdly unique, but it is nicely executed. A heartwarming storyline, beloved characters, and a relatively easy reading level make it a great book! I strongly recommend "Isabel" to any girl who has dreamed of being a mermaid or swimming with whales! This fun, intriguing story is a real treat, and an original one at that.
Most, if not all, the characters were well-developed, lovable, and most of all, memorable! The concept may be unheard of and weirdly unique, but it is nicely executed. A heartwarming storyline, beloved characters, and a relatively easy reading level make it a great book! I strongly recommend "Isabel" to any girl who has dreamed of being a mermaid or swimming with whales! This fun, intriguing story is a real treat, and an original one at that.
November 2, 2011
I Looooved this boook soooo much! i read it in the beginng of the 6th grade.The reason i got this book was because my name happens to be Isabel and i im tottaly in love (obssed) with Whales! i read it it was VERY good i liked itt i would recomend it to a younger readers maybe 5-6 graders a little cheesy i would admit but yes loved it!!
November 5, 2011
I'm pretty sure I've re-re-andre-re-read it. This was a very important book for me, as it is what made me want to read more, and thus started my love of reading. The characters are extremely loveable, I recommend this book to anyone starting to get into chapter books
July 25, 2013
Though I think that this is aimed at 10 and below I read it as a *ahem* 12 year-old (at which point you think you are extremely superior to the 'little kids') and still enjoyed it very much...loved it, actually. The story is so clever, and written very originally. xx
March 20, 2014
This is the first chapter book i ever read,this book is amazing especially if you love the sea and animals, the ending made me cry however, but now matter what this will always be one of my favorite books:)I wish they made some kind of sequel to it still today, it would be so great.
February 13, 2012
I read this in 3rd grade, so I don't remember much. But I do remember reading it over, and over, and over!
February 3, 2012
One of my favourite books. Very cute story about whales and their journey with a girl.
November 25, 2013
Beautiful novel! Love how they call her a Mermaid! Enjoyed the romance between Isabel and Jessaloup! :)
April 15, 2020
A book I read more than a decade ago that still surfaces to my mind every now and then. One of my best childhood reads.
November 23, 2020
this book somehow has it all:
- romance
- life lessons
- information about whales
- cool revalating things that make you think
like i don't even know how to explain it, so PLEASE read this book. it won't disappoint, I promise you.
the next thing i say is not exactly a spoiler, but if you like everything to be a surprise please skip the rest of this review...
by far the coolest part of this book was the fact that isabel was not the only one who experienced living with the whales. i have not read this book in a while, but it was either 20,000 leagues under the sea or moby dick... i'll go with the latter- THE GUY WHO WAS IN MOBY DICK WAS ALSO TAKEN BY THE WHALES!!! and was set on a journey to tell the tales and teach people all about them.
ok some of you are going to think this is cheesey, but my heart and brain literally exploded when i read the part that said that. i mean- what a cool concept! props to the author, i love it when they connect things in their book with allusions.
once again:
READ THIS BOOK!!! (:
wishing you the best <3
- romance
- life lessons
- information about whales
- cool revalating things that make you think
like i don't even know how to explain it, so PLEASE read this book. it won't disappoint, I promise you.
the next thing i say is not exactly a spoiler, but if you like everything to be a surprise please skip the rest of this review...
by far the coolest part of this book was the fact that isabel was not the only one who experienced living with the whales. i have not read this book in a while, but it was either 20,000 leagues under the sea or moby dick... i'll go with the latter- THE GUY WHO WAS IN MOBY DICK WAS ALSO TAKEN BY THE WHALES!!! and was set on a journey to tell the tales and teach people all about them.
ok some of you are going to think this is cheesey, but my heart and brain literally exploded when i read the part that said that. i mean- what a cool concept! props to the author, i love it when they connect things in their book with allusions.
once again:
READ THIS BOOK!!! (:
wishing you the best <3
April 2, 2021
This is a child's book, there's no ifs ands or buts about that fact. I first read this book when I was in the target demographic (and very, very into mermaids), but my little well-loved paperback copy still sits on my bookshelf many years later. A high honor after many moves and donation trips!
I've reread it even as a young adult, and now as a sorta-adult (is 24 an 'adult adult'? Yikes). I may remember this from my nostalgic lens, this story of a young girl who turns into a whale and learns the ins and outs of humpback whale society. Traditions passed down from generation to generation, facing the consequences of mass fishing, even the migration routes of the whales. However out there that may be for some, it doesn't take away from the intriguing concept (mermaids are pretty and while humpbacks are amazing... they're not Ariel), smooth descriptions and dialogue that doesn't feel jilted despite being between whales.
Yes, there's a part where she and a humpback whale, Jessaloup, are flirting. Yes, maybe that's why I'm a furry. (Really, it's not an offensive part of the book, from what I remember, she's only 11 after all.)
Anyways, I would recommend this book to those with young children (or those young at heart) intrigued with the ocean, mermaids, and all things fantastical.
I've reread it even as a young adult, and now as a sorta-adult (is 24 an 'adult adult'? Yikes). I may remember this from my nostalgic lens, this story of a young girl who turns into a whale and learns the ins and outs of humpback whale society. Traditions passed down from generation to generation, facing the consequences of mass fishing, even the migration routes of the whales. However out there that may be for some, it doesn't take away from the intriguing concept (mermaids are pretty and while humpbacks are amazing... they're not Ariel), smooth descriptions and dialogue that doesn't feel jilted despite being between whales.
Yes, there's a part where she and a humpback whale, Jessaloup, are flirting. Yes, maybe that's why I'm a furry. (Really, it's not an offensive part of the book, from what I remember, she's only 11 after all.)
Anyways, I would recommend this book to those with young children (or those young at heart) intrigued with the ocean, mermaids, and all things fantastical.
April 2, 2024
This book...is just special to me. I've reread it several times – given its brevity it's probably my most reread book. It's so captivating, and wish-fulfilling, and such an accessible example of animal fiction (I couldn't get into the Warriors series, for example, and I fuckin love cats). It's really wonderfully done and holds so much nostalgia for me. Probably the founding reason I love whales as one of my favorite animals.
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December 19, 2020Mother Daughter book club w/ Emma. She named her Webkinz frog after Jessaloup!
December 14, 2022
This book will always hold a special place in my heart. Rereading it as an adult, the story still hits hard. It means more now, with the state of the world, and is a love letter to whales and the ocean. The love stories in it, family & more personal, continue to feel authentic. The love you can get from a second family is unlike nothing else. And the pain of finding love at just the wrong time rings true, though you have the lesson that you can still appreciate that love, however short the time you had it.
Original review from ~2012: I LOVE this book. I got it when I visited the Boston Aquarium, four years ago. I love the relationship between Jessaloup and Isabel and the whole world of the whales is amazing. I love it!
Original review from ~2012: I LOVE this book. I got it when I visited the Boston Aquarium, four years ago. I love the relationship between Jessaloup and Isabel and the whole world of the whales is amazing. I love it!
June 16, 2013
I remember I read this years ago, and the story and characters still remain strongly in my memory.
I loved how all the interaction between Isabel and the whales, how they were learning from each other. We get to understand much more about the impacts of whaling, and the plot was really touching. The story ended with us wanting for more. I haven't read the second book yet, but I'm currently hunting around for it. Borrowing it just doesn't seem enough.
Isabel of the Whales was the one book that caused me to open my eyes to beautiful marine mammals and care more about how our selfish activities were endangering the environment.
It is a children's classic, yes, but fun to read and thought-provoking nonetheless.
I loved how all the interaction between Isabel and the whales, how they were learning from each other. We get to understand much more about the impacts of whaling, and the plot was really touching. The story ended with us wanting for more. I haven't read the second book yet, but I'm currently hunting around for it. Borrowing it just doesn't seem enough.
Isabel of the Whales was the one book that caused me to open my eyes to beautiful marine mammals and care more about how our selfish activities were endangering the environment.
It is a children's classic, yes, but fun to read and thought-provoking nonetheless.
June 7, 2010
I was attracted to this book ever since my days of working in the Children's section at a bookstore. One of the cover blurbs got to me, "Watch out Little Mermaid, here comes Isabel."
Isabel is an eleven-year-old girl that loves whales so much. Then one day she falls off a boat and gets to be one. She is considered a "mermaid" by the humpback whales (that call themselves "sirens"), which is a human that becomes a whale.
I recommend this book to an eleven-year-old girl that loves whales so much she wishes she was one.
Isabel is an eleven-year-old girl that loves whales so much. Then one day she falls off a boat and gets to be one. She is considered a "mermaid" by the humpback whales (that call themselves "sirens"), which is a human that becomes a whale.
I recommend this book to an eleven-year-old girl that loves whales so much she wishes she was one.
June 28, 2012
A beautiful and pure fantasy for all ages, I only recently discovered this book, and, I have to say I almost could not put it down! Not only is the fantasy part lovely in its imagery, but, the technical facts about the sea creatures are informative and amazing. Any author would be proud to call this tome her own, and, Ms. Velmans should be congratulated. I only hope that one day this is made into a movie of the Disney/Pixar type. It would be an instant classic, not like those forgettable straight-to-dvds they seem to be churning out the past ten years.
March 19, 2010
I was a little disappointed in this book. It's really more of an "all you ever wanted to know about whales but were afraid to ask" told through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl who actually turns into a whale (that's on the back cover so it's not a spoiler). It wasn't bad, but it wasn't very engaging for me. It was more about telling us how whales live and how awful whale-hunters are than about the girl and her relationships with her whale pod. An easy read, though.
March 23, 2010
Good book, strange concept. But I think so often we want authors to try a new or totally different idea. Then when we come across one we label it as 'weird'. This was one of those. Isabel loves whales. When her class goes whale watching field trip she's ecstatic. But what we'll happen when she falls overboard and doesn't come back up? What is going on beneath the surface of the water? I liked this book. Definetly a simpler read.
May 3, 2014
This book I picked up in Baltimore when I realized that day that I would love the underwater world forever, whales particularly. I had no idea if the book would even interest me long enough, but I've must of re-read it a million time since then. The beautiful images of the author's new world made me feel that I lived through Isabel with her adventures.
August 4, 2015
3.5-4
I so badly wish I read this when I was younger; it would have been one of those books that moved me and I would forever love. It's a very cute and moving story. The author also does a great job of making you feel even more sympathetic towards sea life, specifically whales. I really enjoyed this :)
I so badly wish I read this when I was younger; it would have been one of those books that moved me and I would forever love. It's a very cute and moving story. The author also does a great job of making you feel even more sympathetic towards sea life, specifically whales. I really enjoyed this :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews