Nellie The Narwhal is an entertaining and educational book that children and parents will want to read. Authors Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis have written a wonderful rhyming story filled with adventure—underwater. Nellie the narwhal wants to make friends with several animals, but she’s too small or doesn’t have enough arms or she doesn’t have a shell to play hide and seek. Nellie is bored and wants to find someone to play with. I highly recommend this story as it introduces a variety of underwater animals.

Children may be able to relate to this story of trying to find a good, true friend. The very subtle social aspects of finding a friend and the courage to ask them to play will also be helpful in developing bright children with empathy. But, Nellie doesn’t quit; she thinks of ways that she can play with the other creatures, even if they have different features.

Such adorable characters will attract attention and draw children into Nellie the narwhal's story. The illustrations fill the page with color and help immerse the reader in this wonderful underwater adventure. Authors Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis have created a wonderful, feel-good story with a happy ending. Nellie has a problem, but she finds solutions so she can play with others even though they’re different. Teachers will love how this underwater adventure will encourage reading and introduce children to the many animals that live deep in the ocean. I think every home, school, and public library should have this book on the shelf to help make reading fun and to enable children to go on an underwater adventure without leaving home.

Nellie The Narwhal is an engaging picture book for ages 3-7. There are several layers to this book which makes it useful to teach different lessons. On one level, it is a fun rhyming story about the experience of an adorable narwhal and her sea creature neighbors. But it is also a great book for emotional learning. And finally, it offers a brief introduction to different inhabitants of the ocean world.

The authors, two sisters, know their subject and their audience well. The sisters own a business called Majestic Whale Encounters. They take people swimming with whales at picturesque places around the globe.  The book Nellie The Narwhal was written to gift to children who went on the tour with their parents. However, the authors felt that the book was something special that should be shared with a broader audience. The authors endeavor to spread “…ocean education to help nurture children’s love of the underwater world.”

The story has a familiar theme. Nellie is bored and is looking for someone to play with. She comes across various sea creatures during her search for a playmate. First, she meets Harper the whale who is happily splashing by slapping her tail. When Nellie asks to join in, Harper tells her “This game is not for a girl of your size.” Next, she encounters her friend Bill the octopus who is juggling with his eight arms. Nellie wants to join him, but Bill tells her “…you have no arms and you see I have eight.” Nellie then meets Tommy the turtle who is playing hide-and-seek with his shell. Again, when Nellie wants to play, she is told by Tommy that she cannot join him because “…to play hide-and-seek, you will need a nice shell.” Nellie sadly returns home without being able to play with any of her friends.

However, instead of feeling lonely and sorry for herself, Nellie is determined to find a way to play with her friends. With a little contemplation, Nellie finds solutions that allow her to play with her friends. Nellie realizes she is not too small to slap her tail and splash with Harper the whale. Instead of using his arms to juggle, Bill can use them to tickle Nellie. Nellie creates a new game to play with Tommy the turtle. She ties seaweed into a hoop and lets Tommy try to get the hoop over her tusk. Nellie uses her intellect and imagination to overcome her dilemmas and the book nicely resolves in the end.

The rhyming and illustrations are engaging for children. The storyline is relatable to the intended audience. Nellie relies on her abilities to resolve her problems exhibiting confidence, intellect, and imagination. Knowing that they can resolve some of their problems on their own is good modeling for young children. The book also introduces several sea creatures and highlights some of their unique features. It makes a great introduction to units on the ocean. The book also includes a short quiz with answers at the end. The questions introduce some more facts about the sea creatures in the book.

Altogether, this book is a fun and educational book introducing children to the wonderful world of the ocean. It also teaches some facts about sea creatures. And it provides a wonderful example of social learning by teaching children they can rely on themselves to solve some problems.

I highly recommend this book for ages 3-6, especially as an introduction to an ocean unit. The authors say that Nellie The Narwhal is the first in a series and I look forward to future books from these two talented authors.

Interested in taking an adventure with the unicorn of the sea? Look no further. Nellie the Narwhal by Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis is a fun children's book that takes kids on an underwater exploratory dive. In this book, poor Nellie is alone and wants to play. So, off she goes to find her friends and see what fun they can have. She goes to see Harper the whale, Bill the octopus, and Tommy the turtle but they are all busy with their own games. Unfortunately, they are also unwilling to let little Nellie join in their activities. Luckily, Nellie is smart and innovative. She has no trouble finding a solution. What will it be?

I could not get enough of Nellie the Narwhal by Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis. The illustrations are bright and eye-catching, not to mention cute-as-can-be! They are sure to catch any kid's attention. In addition, the story is engaging and makes the reader think. Young kids are certain to follow along and come up with their own solutions for Nellie's problems. That said, I think the best part was the questions at the end and the message the book shared. The questions get young readers thinking and interacting with the story and characters. The message shows that even though we may not look the same on the outside, we all have much in common. As this is Nellie's first appearance in the literary world, I can certainly say that I am looking forward to seeing more of her in the future.

Nellie is a little narwhal who just wanted a friend to play with. First, she found Harper, a whale who's having fun slapping her tail. When Nellie asked if she could join in, Harper looked her over and decided she was too small. Disappointed, Nellie "swam far away. / She went off to find someone else who would play."

Next, Nellie spied Bill, an octopus who was juggling shells. Nellie swam over and asked if she could juggle too. Bill was happy to see Nellie, but he explained: "'You're a nice narwhal, I do think you're great, / but you have no arms, and you see I have eight.'" Sadly, Nellie "went off to find someone else who would play." Nellie perked up when she saw Tommy Turtle playing hide-and-seek. She was ready to find a hiding spot when Tommy reminded her she would "'need a nice shell.'"

Disappointed again, Nellie went home, and there she had an idea. She hurried back to Harper and showed her that even though she was small, she could do big-whale things. After having fun with Harper, Nellie zipped off to find Bill. Lots of giggles and plenty of tickles later, Nellie went in search of Tommy. She had a new game they could play together—one using her most distinctive feature. Tommy was so impressed that he invited Harper and Bill to join them and think of more "games that they all could share."

Sarah Cullen and Carmen Ellis's undersea adventure will delight kids. Their charming rhyming verses are upbeat, demonstrating many ways to be a good friend. Children will be enchanted with and inspired by Nellie's enthusiasm, creativity, and perseverance. They will also realize that each person has individual abilities that can contribute to the benefit of all. Cullen and Ellis organically integrate facts about sea creatures into the story.

Adorable Nellie and her friends swim in a vibrant ocean where the sun breaks the surface and shines on their seabed playground. Vivid imagery allows children to clearly see each sea creature and the action while also being introduced to coral, seaweed, sea stars, and other ocean features. Kids will love finding the seahorse on each page.

A sweet story for sharing ideas of friendship, creative thinking, and inclusion as well as inspiring kids to learn more about nature, Nellie the Narwhal would be an often-asked-for addition to any child's home library.