Benji Davies: 10 years of The Storm Whale

Award-winning illustrator and author Benji Davies joins us to celebrate 10 years of his wonderful picture book, The Storm Whale. Benji treats us to a reading of The Storm Whale, as well as a reading of the most recent sequel, The Great Storm Whale. Hear about what inspires Benji, watch how he creates such endearing characters, and find out whether he has ever seen a whale in real life!

Pencils and paper at the ready - this episode contains not one, but TWO fantastic draw-alongs with Benji.

If you only do one thing...

We know time is tight so here is just one activity you could do with your class before or after watching the event.

Learn about how whales hear! (SCN 1-11a, SCN 1-12b)

In the broadcast, Benji talks about how whales eat fish and krill. Play a game of Whale! Fish! to learn about how they find their food. In an open space, such as a gym hall or playground, stand in a circle with one child in the middle blindfolded. The child in the middle is the whale, and they must shout "whale!" and the other children are the fish, who must shout "fish!" in response. Can the whale find the fish?

Looking for your next read? For more books that look at our relationship with nature, see our book list of picture books exploring our environment.