“Please Draw Me a Sperm Whale”, winner of the Taste of Science Award | Echo sciences

The sperm whale is the main character in an “oceanographic” adventure imagined by François Sarano and Bomme Pernos, winners of the Taste of Science Prize.

A meeting between two worlds

Oceanographer, author, documentarian, professional diver, former scientific advisor to the brilliant Commander Cousteau… François Sarano is an ocean of knowledge. He co-authored the work “Please, Draw Me a Sperm Whale” (Southern Works), in which he welcomed Owl Pernos and his pens into a unique pictorial, literary, scientific, adventure.

Pom Bernos, photographer and co-author of the book, had never had the opportunity to travel overseas to see sperm whales with her own eyes. She therefore drew inspiration from the memories of François Sarano. Throughout the interviews and questions posed to the oceanographer, Owl Pernus puts his faux-naive attitude at the service of an emblematic, but not always well-known, animal…

Thanks to humor and tenderness, mixed with many literary and cinematic references, this book achieves the achievement of making us understand, with lightness, sometimes complex scientific facts.

Please draw me a sperm whale

It seems we don't just love drawing sheep. Here, colored pencils, in shades of gray and blue, took the words of an adventurer and painted the paper, giving life to the sea monster: the sperm whale.

It is perhaps a beast with its size, rather than its sociable and affectionate nature, which contradicts its popular reputation. As we turn the pages, we see the animal has a plan, to get rid of wrong ideas; Reconstruct it to understand it better; In detail, to get closer to the truth.

Drawings with childish lines are the truest expression of the image that is created before our eyes. Immerse yourself in the stories of the universe to rediscover it, from a simple yet powerful angle. And if you're trying to draw a sperm whale, make it teeth, not baleen!

Credits

Paintings taken from Please, Draw Me a Sperm Whale – Bom Pernos and François Sarano / Act Sud

About the authors

• François Sarano is a doctor of oceanography, professional diver, founder of the Longitude 181 Society, former research director of the Deep Ocean Odyssey programme, expedition leader and former scientific advisor to Commander Cousteau.

• Pomi Bernos is a comic book author, illustrator, and graphic designer, currently based in Tokyo

They are both winners of the 15th edition of the Le Goût des Sciences Prize, in the “Science Book Award” category.

A taste for knowledge

Since 2009, the Literary Prize A taste for knowledgeHighlights the best popular scientific works.

The goal is to reaffirm the place of science at the heart of society by promoting research and mediation work, within two categories:

• The Science Book Prize, awarded by a jury of experts and scientific figures, which rewards work that allows the non-specialist public to understand scientific progress or phenomena and their impact on the world;
• The Children's Science Book Award, awarded by a jury of middle school and library media students, rewards work that aims to introduce children ages 9 to 13 to science.

// Article source: Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research