All about whales  The Beauty of Giants

With their new, beautiful and informative non-fiction book about whales, Michael Stavarič and Michèle Ganser bring joy not only to children. It is truly astonishing.

Writer Michael Stavarič and illustrator Michèle Ganser have already dedicated beautiful children's non-fiction books to octopuses (2021), jellyfish (2023) and sharks (2024). In their latest co-production, they have now turned their attention to the gentle giants of the seas. Like the previous volumes in this series, Faszination Wale (Fascination Whales) provides astonishing information that whets the appetite for knowledge (and science). Entertainment and humour are not neglected either. Wordplay and jokes are sprinkled throughout, and all chapter headings are written in nonsense verse, such as Chapter 6: Overall, Stavarič chooses a literary approach to impart knowledge. In a conversational tone and with a penchant for digressions, he tells lots of stories, including some from his own life. As a child, he preferred to shout ‘fins up’ instead of ‘hands up’ when playing cops and robbers, so he grew up with fins. Even as a young boy, he was fascinated by fish fins and scales. He was able to study them in his grandmother's fish shop, where fish (for eating) were sold.

A flying blue whale

In addition, there are numerous digressions that lead into architecture, medicine, physics and history. Stavarič begins with an excursion into the history of airships, which outlines some very imaginative parallels between zeppelins and whales – and then raises the question of how many helium-filled balloons would be needed to lift a blue whale into the air.


One chapter is devoted to the relationship between whales and humans. It also deals with the evolution of whales. The British naturalist Charles Darwin, one of the great pioneers of modern evolutionary theory, cannot be left out here. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Darwin knew that whales are mammals and must therefore have once lived on land. In his most famous work, On the Origin of Species (1859), he speculates about the possible ancestors of whales. For him, ‘a swimming bear trying to catch insects with its mouth open was a conceivable starting point for the phylogenetic history of whales.’ Stavarič not only finds this idea amusing, it also encourages him:

Blubber and a fluke print

The book is full of further details about whales in general and the different species in particular. You learn what blubber is – but without giving too much away, it has nothing to do with a cry-baby. One of the three fins is called a flipper, it's the pectoral fin – and now I also know why the 1960s TV series starring a dolphin has the same name. And yes, dolphins are also whales. The other two fins are the dorsal fin and the fluke (tail fin). Flipper, fin, fluke – just as easy to remember as Huey, Dewey and Louie. Whereas we humans use fingerprints for identification, this would be a little more complicated with whales, because every fluke is unique, but how would you take a fluke print?

Michèle Ganser's black-and-white illustrations are beautiful and impressive. For the underwater world, she often chooses the universe with countless stars as a backdrop. Other images are very playful. There are hidden object and search pictures, as well as picture puzzles.

Michael Stavarič's and Michèle Ganser's book about whales – like its predecessors – fully lives up to the title of this series. It is fascinating, amazes not only young readers and broadens their horizons by repeatedly straying from the topic, but always returning to it elegantly. An all-round successful work! We can look forward to the next volume in this series, which Stavarič announces at the end without revealing which sea creature they will focus on next. Suggestions are expressly welcome – Leykam, the publisher, looks forward to receiving your suggestions.

September 2025