LENA AND THE WHALE Deridre Kessler Illustrated by P. John Burden Charlottetown (P.E.I.), Ragweed Press, 1991. 24pp, paper, $5.95 ISBN 0-921556-13-6. CIP Kindergarten to Grade 3/Ages 5 to 8 Reviewed by Rebecca Raven Volume 19 Number 6 1991 November As a little girl who has a sixth sense for knowing when animals are in trouble, Lena finds her rescue skills tested when she discovers a beached humpback whale. Coming to Lena's aid are her friends the crow and the skunk, animals whom Lena has already saved. Unfortunately, the story is sentimen­tal and lacks credibility. The baby animals Lena is described as rescuing would not have the ability to assist in saving the whale. Her rescue of the whale, which is preceded by a dream sequence where Lena is "a girl who is also a whale," is contrived in light of ensuing events. The illustrations do little to improve the story. The human characters especially lack warmth of detail. While environmental issues generally and whale rescues specifically may be timely topics, this title is peripheral. Rebecca Raven, Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton, Ont.