NONFICTION

Whale Quest: Working Together To Save Endangered Species

by Karen Romano YOUNG
128p. chart. further reading. index. notes. photos. websites. Twenty-First Century. Aug. 2017. Tr $37.32. ISBN 9781467792462.
COPY ISBN
Gr 7 Up—Whales have long captured the human imagination, from the Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale to Herman Melville's Moby-Dick to the 1993 film Free Willy. Young explores these majestic animals in 10 fact-filled chapters. Readers learn about the whale family tree and the 80-plus whale species that exist, as well as how these animals eat, breathe, mate, and migrate. The author also examines the booming whaling industry of the 19th century and its devastating effects on global whale populations. Subsequent chapters focus on the efforts of organizations such as the International Whaling Commission to protect whales and the attempts of cetologists to research and understand whales in order to better safeguard them and the oceans they inhabit. Interspersed throughout the text are photographs and "Whale To Watch" sidebars that highlight individual specific cases. An extensive amount of back matter concludes the volume.
VERDICT Whale lovers and budding oceanographers will surely appreciate this thorough title.
Reviewed by Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn
Young overloads her presentation with myriad topics regarding whales and their relationships with humans. Basic science is followed by whaling and its eventual ban, profiles of scientists engaged in research, the controversies surrounding captivity, and citizen science projects devoted to conservation. Photographs, diagrams, sidebars, and quotes are included. A basic "Whale Guide" on twenty different species is appended. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.
 , Jun 01, 2017

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