When you find yourself trying to remember a show (or any works) that's on the tip of your tongue but just out of reach, come here - the collective brain of the TVTropes community can probably help. Post all the details you can remember (examples help). If you're looking for a trope, head over to Trope Finder. Have general questions about tropes? Visit Ask The Tropers!
Leporidae
Since: Mar, 2016
RedScharlach
Since: Jul, 2016
30th May, 2020 12:30:20 AM
I think this is Okino and the Whales.
Leporidae
Since: Mar, 2016
2nd Jun, 2020 08:52:07 PM
^ Thank you, RedScharlach, I think that is the book I am looking for! I haven't found any scans of the illustrations, but description in the link you provided sounds just like the story I remember!
Edited by Leporidae
I'm looking for the name of a fantasy/ fairy tale picture book where a mother has to rescue her son from the ocean. She strikes a bargain with a whale, who asks her to cut off her long, dark hair and weave it into a jacket for the whale to wear in the cold ocean. In exchange, the whale will help her rescue her son. The whale also promises to give her a magic remedy that will regrow her hair after she has cut it off. The mother begins work on the jacket, but finds she doesn't have enough material. She asks the whale for the hair re-growth remedy, and she cuts her hair off again (leaving her bald or with very short, scraggly hair she covers with a scarf). The mother finishes the whale's jacket, and is able to bring her son back home safely.
I do not know when this book was published. The illustrations were mostly done in dark colors, possibly in pastel or chalk (there was a soft, blurry feel to them). I believe there was a mention at the beginning of the book that it was based on an Asiatic fairy tale, but I haven't been able to find any fairy tales that match the story I remember.
Edited by Leporidae