Author(s): Christina Booth

Childrens

Welcome Home is the story of a young boy and a whale as she swims into the river harbour seeking safety and a resolution to the violent past relationship between whales and man. This prosaic journey, accompanied with soft sketchy watercolour images, reveals how the past can impact our future. Can the boy make amends for the past? Can the whale forgive and return to what was once her ancestors' home? Whaling is an horrific image to portray in any literature yet this story offers its history and consequences to children in a gentle, safe way. This story does not avoid the facts but ends with hope and reconciliation, using history to show the consequences of our choices and actions.