Abigail the Whale

Abigail dreads swimming lessons. Every time she dives into the pool, she makes a big splash, and all the girls in her class shout: “Abigail’s a whale!” Abigail can see that she is larger than the other girls. She feels huge, heavy, and out of place.

Abigail’s swimming teacher takes her aside and points out: we can change how we see ourselves. He offers a creative visualization technique she can use to feel bolder, more confident, and more accepting of herself. Abigail tries it out in challenging situations that week—walking home in the dark, eating her vegetables, trying to fall asleep. Illustrations in the book show her perspective morphing powerfully to match her new thought patterns.

Next time she’s in swimming class, instead of feeling heavy, Abigail thinks sardine, eel, barracuda, shark! She starts to figure out how to draw on mindfulness, creative thinking, resilience, and positive self-esteem to embrace exactly who she is. This picture book supports social/emotional learning and serves as a perfect jumping-off point for topics like bullying, empathy, confidence, and creative problem solving.

LEVELING
Grade Range: K–4
Fountas & Pinnell: K
Reading Recovery: 18
Lexile: AD 430L

COMMON CORE
RF.2.3,3c,3d,3e,4,4a,4c
W.2.1,3,5,6,7,8
L.2.3,4,4a,4d,5,5a,5b,6
SL.2.1,1a,1b,1c,2,3,4,6
RL.2.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10