Book Review: Welcome to Whalebone Mansion: Creatures That Lurk at a Whale Fall by Laken Slate

Rating: 5 Stars

I absolutely loved diving into Welcome to Whalebone Mansion by Laken Slate! This charming, beautifully illustrated graphic picture book takes young readers on a fascinating underwater adventure that’s both playful and packed with cool facts.

The story follows two curious little fish who stumble upon what looks like a creepy haunted house way down deep on the ocean floor. At first, they wonder if there might be ghosts or vampires lurking inside, but it turns out this eerie mansion is actually made from the bones of a whale that sank and decomposed down below. This “whalebone mansion” becomes home to all kinds of strange and mysterious sea creatures, like hagfish, goblin sharks, vampire squids, anglerfish, and even these weird bone-eating worms humorously nicknamed “snot flowers.”

What I really appreciated about this book is how it cleverly mixes storytelling with educational content. The playful narrative invites kids to ask questions and explore, while sidebars throughout offer neat little facts that sneak in learning without feeling like a lesson. It’s perfect for kids ages 3 to 7 but also offers extra info and even a video link for deeper exploration—making it a great pick for older kids and adults who want to learn alongside their little ones.

And can we just take a moment to admire that cover? It’s eye-catching and perfectly sets the tone for this spooky-yet-fascinating journey. Overall, Welcome to Whalebone Mansion is an engaging, informative, and visually delightful book that makes the mysterious world of deep-sea whale falls accessible and fun. Highly recommend it for any young ocean explorer!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

This was a fun look at the scientific and biological happenings at a whalefall, told in an easily accessible picture book. I loved the illustrations, the short verses for narration, and the captioned boxes that give a bit more in depth information. This book taught me some new facts and now I want to read more about whale falls.

I highly recommend this book for schools and libraries.

Welcome to Whalebone Mansion is a fun, informational, and cozy suspense story about a few fish who explore a whale fall. The author does a great job of weaving together suspense and information so we learn about whale falls and their importance to other species while also having some very low-key chills and thrills as the fish bump into other spooky sea creatures. This would be a great read for spooky season, especially if you're looking to stay away from Halloween-centered stories. It would also be great as an introduction to suspense or the scientific concepts or a unit on sea creatures or whales. This would be a good fit for any K-3rd-grade classroom or library patron. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Welcome to Whalebone Mansion - Creatures That Lurk at a Whale Fall.

Ok let's pretend we're two fish going to a haunted mansion to get spooked. Be surprised by strange living creatures and scary inhabitants. How fun ?!

"I know it's dark, but don't trust that light.
It may glimmer like a jewel.
It may gleam like sunlight..."

A cool and fun way to learn about what lives in the ocean depth (like hagfish, goblin shark, vampire squid, anglerfish, worms), where whales end their journeys. It's basically a haunted house but for fish. The fish visit the haunted version of the whale's skeleton mansion.

"Is it smoke from a witch's cauldron ?
Is it the reaching arm of a ghost ?"

Guess what those strange forms and lights are, but beware not to get caught or lost in those depths ! Another read that could be right for Halloween and the october month, that fall season, ready to get spooked and scared by mysterious stories and illustrations.

#WelcometoWhaleboneMansion #NetGalley

Fun, informative book with beautiful illustrations. the black background is great contrast for the bright colored fish. Readers will learn a lot reading this book but it won't feel super academic but a fun exploration of what happens to the whalebones in the ocean. It made me very curious to learn more. This would be a great addition for public and school (elementary) libraries.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Welcome to Whalebone Mansion is an informative and beautifully illustrated graphic picture book for children about what happens to a whales bones after they die. It shows many interesting creatures that take part in the decomposition of the bones and that take shelter within them. The information is compact and appropriate for the targeted reader/audience, and the added information and reading suggestions at the back of the book are informative for older children and adults too.

Whale falls are endlessly fascinating to me! I love this playful and informative take on what creatures lurk in the Whalebone Mansion. I read this e-ARC with my two children, and they immediately asked to find more books on the topic and watch the videos linked at the end of the book. You know that a book is successful when it piques a child's attention and has them asking for more!

The illustrations in this book are evocative, and the playful banter between the two "narrating" fish addresses the fears a child might have about the topic.
This is a fabulous book!

I love the way this is illustrated and the way the fish make their way through this "haunted house" and find different underwater creatures. It was an interesting way to learn about different creatures lurking below!

This is a really fun children’s book that explores the topic of whale falls. This phenomenon is a subject that I oddly really enjoy and is such a fascinating and often overlooked part of our natural systems, that I was excited to see it made accessible for a younger audience. While I think this would be a quick, fun, and informative read for those in the target age group, and while this book succeeds in making a unique topic exciting and approachable, a few parts didn’t quite work for me.

For one, I would have loved to see a more developed story or narrative arc to help guide readers through the material. While we do follow two little fish around the site of the whale fall who act as our narrators and guides, there isn’t much of a true narrative, which made the book feel a bit one-dimensional at times. A whale fall offers such a rich backdrop that it could have been a powerful setting for exploring broader themes like reciprocity, empathy, and the interdependence of natural systems. Without a more central story, though, the book leans heavily on presenting information in a fairly flat way, which felt like a missed opportunity.

I also had some concerns about how some of the various sea creatures presented throughout the book were depicted. While I understand the goal might be to create a dramatic or eerie mood, I worry that portraying these animals as creepy or dangerous can unintentionally reinforce negative public perceptions, something that already affects real-world attitudes and conservation efforts. This is something seen most notably with animals like sharks and bats.

That said, the artwork throughout this book is absolutely gorgeous, and I appreciated the inclusion of additional resources at the back of the text.

Thank you to NetGalley and Charlesbridge for the advanced copy for review. Opinions are my own.

Welcome to Whalebone Mansion is such an adorable and beautifully illustrated story that is as educational as it is captivating. The artwork is so fun and detailed, while the informational text is easy to digest and compatible with young readers. I especially loved the reading suggestions and information at the back of the book so that readers can engage more with this topic. My 8 year old now needs to know everything he can about bone-eating zombie worms.

I just love science books disguised as fun adventure books! This delightful picture book has beautiful illustrations and tons of facts, but presented as part of a lighthearted dialogue. Many thanks to NetGalley

Beautiful ocean art, paired with a minimal text adventure story, complimented by related facts in text boxes. Welcome to Whalebone Mansion makes for a unique read in that is a mix of narrative story and fact. .