I'm a Submarine  Nigel McHardy

 

I'm a Submarine   

Nigel McHardy (text & ill)

Oratia Books (2025)

Picture book, Illustrated story

Paperback, 32 pages

ISBN   978 1 99 004280 5

 

A single conversation establishes this amusing picture book’s theme. A seagull addresses a whale.

‘Hello whale!’

‘Whale? I’m not a whale. I’m a submarine.’

Intrigued and suspecting a trick, Seagull presses Whale to admit that he’s a whale.

‘You are long and grey but you still look like a whale to me.’

Their debate continues as they move around the sea, with Whale using slightly dodgy logic.

He mentions his ability to dive deep, then rise up out of the water with a splash as proof he’s a submarine.

Whale also points out his use of sound detection to navigate.

‘Yes, whales can do that too,’ responds Seagull, ‘It’s called sonar. You are a whale.’

The two friends are still arguing about the whale’s lack of windows and passengers when a storm strikes. Seagull is saved in a surprising way by Whale. More surprises follow and Seagull now sees Whale in a new light.

He also sees himself in a surprisingly different way.

Nigel McHardy has created an allegory for our times; a fable about self-perception. This is a story which is told entirely in dialogue. In this case, it is very witty and pertinent dialogue. [“And what is the use of a book, without pictures or conversation?" asks Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.]

Nigel McHardy has also illustrated his book with his own pictures, which are as funny as the text. Both the whale and the seagull are charmingly depicted and there is deadpan humour in their movements and expressions.

I Am a Submarine is a picture book with a wide range of appeal.   

 

Trevor Agnew 

14 Apr 2025 [Review 3758]