Elem. – Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem

Stewart, Melissa. Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem. Random House, Illustrated by Rob Dunleavey. 2023. 978-0-593-38060-4. unpaged. $18.99. Grades 2 and up.

Have you ever wondered what happens to sea animals when they die? Read this book to find out. When a whale dies, a new beginning for many sea animals is just beginning. This book details the animals that feast off a whale: zombie worms, squat lobsters, and sea cucumbers just to name a few.  This process can take up to 50 years! The end of the book includes more details about the species who feast on the whale as well as sources and further exploration books, photos, and videos.

THOUGHTS: I love a good nonfiction picture book! There is so much information to be shared with students.

577.7 Marine Ecology
Picture Book

Elem. – The Whale Who Swam Through Time: A 200-Year-Journey in the Arctic

Boersma, Alex, and Nick Pyenson. The Whale Who Swam Through Time: A 200-Year-Journey in the Arctic. Roaring Brook Press, 2022. 978-1-250-80302-3. Unpaged. $19.99. Grades 1-4.

This amazing nonfiction picture book tells the story of the world’s longest living mammal-the bowhead whale. This remarkable animal spends its entire life in the Arctic Ocean and has a lifespan of two hundred years. In a creative approach, the authors take the reader on a journey from the perspective of a Balaena mysticetus born two centuries ago. As a newborn calf, she and her mother rest undisturbed as they observe a sailing ship quietly making its way through the Northwest Passage. The young one learns from her mother and reaches maturity by age 25 years. As a baleen whale, she feeds by swimming through the water with mouth open, devouring her favorite food-orange copepods. Fifty years later, the bowhead, now with her own calf, encounters a noisy steamship with a crew of whalers. The pair barely escape from a sharp harpoon. At one hundred years of age, the marine mammal faces new threats from both the ocean’s surface and its depths.  Noise from oil drills and submarines travels underwater for miles, interfering with whale communication. Today, fifty years later, the bowhead finds that the ocean is warmer, and the ice is receding. There are dangers from propeller blades, plastic flotsam and jetsam, and fishing lines. What will she experience next over the upcoming decades? In the back matter, the authors provide detailed information about the bowhead’s habits and habitat, as well historical background on the Northwest Passage and whaling. Boersma is also the illustrator and uses a variety of media to create fabulous drawings that showcase the whale’s environment and experiences over time. Young readers will be fascinated by this story of a long-living animal that is left with only distant memories of what once was.

THOUGHTS: This picture book will be useful in science and ecology units.  It is also a good mentor text for creative nonfiction. A first choice for elementary collections.

599.5276 Whales          Denise Medwick, Retired, PSLA Member

Elem. – Little Narwhal, Not Alone

Stone, Tiffany. Little Narwhal, Not Alone. Greystone Kids, 2021. 978-1-77164-620-8. Unpaged. $17.95. Grades K-2. 

Little Narwhal, Not Alone follows a young narwhal as he explores his world, meets new friends, and has all of these new exciting adventures. However, he travels too far and ends up not finding any narwhals to spend time with, but he does find some beluga whales! But the belugas don’t understand him, and he can’t understand them. Over time the narwhal ends up fitting in with the belugas, and they even play together! The narwhal feels that he has found new friends to spend time with! At the end of this book there is a note from a marine biologist, stating how this book is rooted in some truth! That really adds to the book and makes the reader want to start at the beginning of the book all over again.

THOUGHTS: This is a wonderful picture book!! The illustrations add to the overall underwater feel of the story. The addition from the marine biologist at the end of the book is lovely and will make the reader want to go learn more.

Picture Book          Mary McEndree, Lehigh Valley Regional Charter Academy

Elem. – The Heart of a Whale

Pignataro, Anna. The Heart of a Whale. Philomel Books, 2020. $17.99. 978-1-984-83627-4. 32 p. Grades K-3. 

Whale has a beautiful song that soothes, cheers and calms all of the animals in the ocean. Even though whale’s song brings joy and love to many he was lonesome, noticing “how there was no song big enough to fill his empty heart.” One day, the whale is so forlorn he lets out a sigh that is carried by the ocean to another whale who travels far and wide to accompany him. United, the whales sing in unison “of happiness and hope, magic and wonder.” Brief text accompanied by soothing watercolor illustrations of marine animals cover each spread. 

THOUGHTS: A good picture book to begin a conversation with students about loneliness, kindness and friendships. Detailed illustrations alongside a musical theme offer STEAM connections to music and marine life units. 

Picture Book         Jackie Fulton, Mt. Lebanon SD 

Elementary NF – Animals; When Whales Cross the Sea; Symbiosis; Safe in a Storm

Kalman, Bobbie. Animals that Live in Social Groups. New York: Crabtree Publishing, 2016. 978-0-7787-2787-3. 32 pp. $16.99. Gr. 3-5.

Did you know that a group of lemurs is called a conspiracy? This beautiful non-fiction book describes several animals that live in groups.  These include dolphins, lions, baboons, elephants and more.  Students will love the bold, real photographs with interesting captions that fill each page.  This book also includes important text features such as a table of contents, glossary, and index to assist students as they navigate through a non-fiction text.  The text is clear and easy to understand with thought provoking questions and quizzes that test how well you read an animal’s non-verbal expressions.  THOUGHTS:  This is a great addition to a non-fiction library or a unit about animals and their interactions.  Students will love the strange names for some of the groups (like a murder of crows) .  This book adds another layer to the study of animals and their habitats and interactions.

Animals     Donna Fernandez, Calvary Christian Academy

 

Katz Cooper, Sharon. When Whales Cross the Sea: the Gray Whale Migration. North Mankato, MN: Capstone, 2016. 978-4795-6079-0. 32 pp.  $16.99. Gr. K-3.

When Whales Cross the Sea: the Gray Whale Migration is a picture book account of one whale’s migration from her summer home in the Arctic Ocean to her winter home off of the coast of Mexico.  With beautiful illustrations, the whale’s trip is chronicled as she feeds and prepares, and then embarks on her long journey.  The wording is magical and yet descriptive as in this line describing the whale’s layer of blubber. “It’s like a coat and a restaurant in one. The blubber keeps the whale warm and gives her energy.”  This is a wonderfully simplistic look at the preparations, possible dangers, and sweet birth of her baby in the warm waters of Mexico. This book also includes some “Fast Facts” about Gray Whales, a glossary, Critical Thinking questions aligned with Common Core Standards, and suggestions for more reading about the subject. THOUGHTS:  This book is a great read aloud for a unit on whales for a Kindergarten or First Grade class.  As each step is taken, students can follow and then try to put the steps of the whale’s journey in order at a center or on a smartboard.  Teachers can also use the critical thinking questions provided to guide discussion further.

Whales (Picture Book)     Donna Fernandez, Calvary Christian Academy

 

Kalman, Bobbie. Symbiosis: How Different Animals Relate. New York: Crabtree, 2016. 978-0-7787-2785-9. 32pp.  $16.99. Gr. 3-6.

The relationships between some animals are helpful, while others are harmful.  This book explores the four types of symbiosis; mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, and predation.   Using full color photographs and captions, the author describes various types of beneficial and non-beneficial relationships in the animal world. The text often asks questions that remain unanswered, forcing a student to explore or research further to find out.  Critical thinking questions are sprinkled liberally throughout. Even human factors like bacteria and probiotics are discussed.  The text includes a table of contents, glossary and index to help students navigate this information rich text.  THOUGHTS:  This book is a helpful addition to a library collection of books about animals and their interrelationships.  Symbiosis is a complicated concept, but this book begins to help bring a clearer understanding of the different types of animal relationships.  A teacher might use some of the critical thinking questions as writing prompts to encourage students to synthesize information already learned in the unit.  Several examples of each type of symbiosis are used allowing for a variety of discussions over a variety of biomes.

Animals     Donna Fernandez, Calvary Christian Academy

 

Swinburne, Stephen. Safe in a Storm. New York: Cartwheel Books, 2016. 978-0-545-86792-4. Unpaged. $10.99. Gr. PreK-K.

Swinburne’s simple story discusses different animals seeking shelter during a storm, with the parent offering reassurances to its youngsters that they are safe. Bell does a lovely job combining the dark skies and angry storm with warm scenes of animal families embracing or snuggling to keep dry during the storm. This is a great book to share one-on-one, snuggled up on a dreary day. THOUGHTS: A sweet story to share with youngsters who don’t like storms or just need a reminder that they are loved.

Picture book     Lindsey Long, Nye & Conewago Elementary Schools