Readers will laugh aloud at the silly antics of a pair of opinionated sea mammals in a tale presenting one side of a debate when read front-to-back and the other side when read back-to-front, slyly revealing the way identical facts can be used to support opposite positions.

A boastful whale and a showboating otter compete in a battle of words to prove that each is the greatest animal ever to swim the seas. Read one way, the first-person text brags about whales' superiority; read the other way, it extols how much better otters are. Using true information about the two marine species to make both arguments, Kate Messner's adroit text and Brian Biggs's giggle-worthy artwork brilliantly illustrate how the same words can be used to express contradictory opinions when speakers have a one-sided view of the world. Includes factual back matter about language usage and the actual similarities of whales and otters.

Author: Kate Messner
Publisher: Clarion Books
Published: 04/21/2026
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 11.20h x 8.20w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9780063372627
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 2.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 558779 / Whale's Tale and the Otter's Side of the Story: A Book to Read from Front to Back and Back to Front


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 04/01/2026
Publishers Weekly 01/26/2026
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2026

About the Author
Messner, Kate: -

Kate Messner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous pictures and middle grade titles. Before becoming a full-time writer, she was a TV news reporter as well as an educator who spent fifteen years teaching middle school English. She lives on Lake Champlain.

Biggs, Brian: -

Brian Biggs is an illustrator, designer, educator, and author who has written and/or illustrated more than seventy-five children's books, including his own Everything Goes series. He lives in Philadelphia.