“Reviewed By Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers’ Favorite

We all dream about being something we’re not. Everyone seems to want to place us into categories, make us into a generality. George knew better. He was a stuffed puppy and he spent his days on the shelf of a toy store with other stuffed puppies, dreaming about joining the pod of sea creatures across the aisle. George dreamed that he was a beluga whale, not a puppy. He dreamed that he had fins and a blowhole and that he could swim like the best of the beluga whales. The other stuffed animals decided to set him straight. He was a puppy and he was expected to behave like a puppy. So he did. At least until a dear old lady bought him as a birthday present for a special little boy. And that special little boy saw George for what he really was.

Jax Malcolm’s picture book story, The Positively True Tale of George the Beluga Whale (Dog), is a sweet story about believing in ourselves and continuing to believe even when everyone else tells us something different. The main character, George, is a stuffed animal, a dog, or, actually in his mind, a beluga whale. George struggles to believe he’s something everyone else tells him he isn’t. When he finally meets someone who believes him, George not only realizes his dream, but he also realizes that his dreams are important and he is important just as he is and even as he believes he is. The colorful illustrations help lead this story along effectively. A real treasure.”