Whales!: Strange and Wonderful

by Laurence Pringle, Meryl Learnihan Henderson (Illustrator)

Overview

Whales are among the world's most captivating creatures. The humpback whale can grow up to fifty feet in length. The blue whale is a giant that can grow to a length of one hundred feet. Its tongue weighs as much as an elephant! Yet all whales aren't enormous, and there are many kinds, from the beluga, with its white skin, to the narwhal, with its seven-foot-long tusk. Join Laurence Pringle as he introduces a variety of whales and describes efforts to save these magnificent creatures from extinction. With bold, realistic illustrations by Meryl Henderson, this journey to the undersea world unveils the mysterious world of these mammals in the ocean.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590789179
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	04/01/2012
Series:	Strange and Wonderful
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD940L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Laurence Pringle has written more than one hundred books for children, including the Strange and Wonderful series and The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar, among other award-winning science titles. Internationally, his books have sold more than three million copies. He lives in West Nyack, New York. laurencepringle.com.

Meryl Henderson has illustrated a number of children’s books and is a regular contributor to Highlights for Children. She lives in Hunter, New York. Visit merylsart.com.

Editorial Reviews

From a take-notice beginning ("If you were a great whale, you could open your mouth wide enough to hold an elephant") to a thoughtful treatment of whale conservation at the end, Pringle (Crows, 2002, etc.) does a bang-up job on his 100th outing. Here he covers all aspects of the giants, from physiology to diet to migration, and all types, from narwhals with their spiral tusks (really a left tooth) to blue whales that grow to be 100 feet long (and eat four tons of food a day). Pringle's smooth prose explains not only the what, but the why of whales-they can grow so big, for example, because the water they live in supports their weight. Henderson's annotated watercolors dramatize and enliven the text, as well as provide a useful sense of scale. A rare nonfiction picture book that works beautifully as a read-aloud, as a whole, it's as wonderful as the whales. (Nonfiction. 4-10)

Kirkus Reviews