World Whale Day takes place on the third Sunday in February.
About 45 species of whales are found in the waters off Australia for part of each year, including the Blue Whale and the Southern Right Whale. Whales play a vital role in our marine ecosystem and serve as indicators of ocean health. Their presence indicates a thriving marine environment, and their absence can signal ecosystem imbalance.
Whales are popular with young children so whenever we do a display of whale books they do not stay in the library very long. We have some very beautiful whale stories, but the nonfiction books are just as popular.
Two very special nonfiction whale books have been published in the last couple of years, Whale Fall by Melissa Stewart and Rob Dunlavey and Life After Whale by Lynn Brunelle and Jason Chin. Both have won major nonfiction book awards and both deal with the death of a whale and what happens to their body after their death.
Winner of the AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence
When a whale dies, its massive body silently sinks down, down, through the inky darkness, finally coming to rest on the silty seafloor. For the whale, it’s the end of a 70-year-long life. But for a little-known community of deep-sea dwellers, it’s a new beginning. First come the hungry hagfish, which can smell the whale from miles around. Then the sleeper sharks begin their prowl, feasting on skin and blubber. After about six months, the meat is gone.
Winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal
All living things must one day die, and Earth’s largest creature, the majestic blue whale, is no exception. But in nature, death is never a true ending. When this whale closes her eyes for the last time in her 90-year life, a process known as whale fall is just beginning. Her body will float to the surface, then slowly sink through the deep; from inflated behemoth to clean-picked skeleton.
Both of these books have superb illustrations and detailed lyrical texts. They have been reviewed and written about by others more eloquent than me. Search them out and see for yourself.
While getting books off the shelves for the display it also struck me just how many of the stories were based on real whales.
Migaloo: The White Whale by Mark Wilson. This is the children's favourite whale.
He is a white humpback whale, the first one to be documented.He was first sighted in 1991. He travels 12,000 kilometres each year from Antarctica up the eat coast of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef. He has a web page of his own.
Tells the story of a whale rescue off Busselton in Western Australia. About 1500 people turned up to save 120 stranded false killer whales. Because of the phenomenal community support all but one whale survived.
Deepsea Rescue by Jan Ramage and Mark Wilson
Based on a true account, tells the story of a mother whale's courageous efforts to to care for her calf as killer whales attacked. Divers from a nearby launch who were watching this event realised that the mother whale also had another problem. She was entangled in nylon ropes.
In 2012, a Southern right whale gave birth to a calf in Sydney Harbour. It was only the third time in recorded history that a Southern right whale had been born in the harbour. The mother and calf stayed in the sheltered waters of the city’s inlets and bays for several months before heading south to the Antarctic waters. The people of Sydney were entranced by the presence of these whales so close to the city.
Trapped! A Whale's Rescue by Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor
This story is based on an actual event. On 11th December, 2005 fishermen off the coast of California spotted a large humpback whale struggling to free itself from a network of ropes attached to crab traps. A group of divers saved the whale.
This story is based on the same actual event off the coast of California as the story above.
Wild Orca by Brenda Peterson and Wendell Minor
Pays tribute to Granny, the world’s oldest-known orca whale who lived to be one hundred and five. Told from the perspective of young Mia and her family on a whale-watching excursion in the San Juan Islands,
Hope the Whale by Laura Chamberlain
Follow Hope the blue whale on her epic journey across the oceans, in this uplifting tale, inspired by the story of the real Hope the whale - one of the Natural History Museum's most loved exhibits.
If you are looking for other picture books about whales see my Pinterest page here.
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