Orcas of the Salish Sea

by Mark Leiren-Young

Overview

Meet Onyx and the orcas of J pod, the world’s most famous whales.

Illustrated with stunning photos, this picture book introduces young readers to the orcas humans first fell in love with. The members of J pod live in the Salish Sea, off the coast of Washington and British Columbia. Moby Doll was the first orca ever displayed in captivity, Granny was the oldest orca known to humanity, and Scarlet was the orca humans fought to save.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459825055
Publisher:	Orca Book Publishers
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.75(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	830L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mark Leiren-Young is a writer, documentary filmmaker, playwright, podcaster and orca activist. His book The Killer Whale Who Changed the World won the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada general audience book award. He wrote, directed and produced an award-winning documentary The Hundred-Year-Old Whale, and his documentary about Moby Doll is being produced by Middle Child Films. Mark hosts Skaana, a podcast about orca and ocean stories and is actively involved in the fight for the survival of the endangered southern residents. Mark has written for other young audiences for ABC, PBS, YTV, Treehouse and BBC Kids. His books for young readers include Big Whale, Small World, Orcas of the Salish Sea and the City of Victoria Children’s Book Prize winner, Orcas Everywhere. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

“Mark Leiren-Young is the kind of author who produces trustworthy works of nonfiction that will both entertain and educate children.”–CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Editorial Reviews

Interesting facts are presented with a peppy writing style...Text is elevated by intriguing photos of these fascinating creatures.

Kirkus Reviews

A well-crafted informative picture book that could be easily used as a read-aloud or part of research for grades K-2. Highly Recommended.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

A generally engaging and informative work of narrative nonfiction on a popular topic.

School Library Journal

2020-01-26
Orca whales living in the Pacific Northwest region are introduced through brief text and full-color photographs taken throughout the area.

Several individual orcas and the three named pods in the region are discussed along with information about orca movements, social behavior, and communication. While interesting facts are presented with a peppy writing style, many basic facts about orca whales are not included. Orcas are not identified as mammals with the common characteristics of all mammals, for instance, and other pertinent aspects are not included such as orca breathing and definition of body parts like fin, fluke, and blowhole. The cultural significance of orcas to First Nations and Native American cultures is also not addressed. Critical orientation is provided by a map reproduced on both the front and back endpapers, which shows the home waters and range of the southern resident orcas. The area of the Salish Sea is included as part of the map, but this term—so important to the focus of the entire book—is not also explained within the text. The photographs are the volume’s best feature, showing orcas in movement in many different settings. These high-quality photos make this a logical choice as a supplemental resource for study of orca whales.

An inadequate text is elevated by intriguing photos of these fascinating creatures. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews