[Dolphin Adventure: A True Story] (By: Wayne Grover) [published: October, 2000]

Dolphin

by Wayne Grover

Eighty feet below the ocean's surface, Wayne Grover hears a clicking sound. Soon he sees three dolphins--two adults and a baby--swimming toward him. A large fishing hook is embedded in the baby's back, and suddenly Wayne realizes that, in their own way, the dolphins are asking for his help.

Genres: Childrens, Animals, Nonfiction, School, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Science

Paperback

First published August 20, 1990

Reviews

[Margaret Chind · Rating 3 out of 5]

One child tells me five stars (the student the reading was aimed at), another child tells me four because it is too short, and lastly a student revisiting the book tells me ten stars. Based a true story, this marine adventure is a great start into our new school journey. We will be starting the sequel Dolphin Treasure today as well.

I found the chapters to be short and sweet. The pen ink illustrations just enough. This story kept their attention and left the begging for more.

This is an original Sonlight Curriculum recommendation that is now listed in the new Kindergarten K for 2020 as a read aloud selection. We own a paperback copy.

[Jennie Louwes · Rating 5 out of 5]

One thing I truly enjoy about being a homeschooling mom is access to books via the curriculum we've chosen; which, for us, has meant Sonlight. "Dolphin Adventure", like so many other books we've received through that route, did not disappoint!

If you've been following along with any of my reviews, there's just something about true stories that has my heart (and those of my children, thus far, too.) Having someone share a piece of their life with us is an adventure in and of itself!

To realize that someone not only swam with dolphins; but, that these dolphins were wild, is amazing all on its own. To add into the mix that these particular dolphins made up a family unit, and were seeking out human intervention, was even more astounding!

You never know who, or what, God is going to place into your path to help. Be kind, empathetic, and compassionate; be ready to give an assist, with a willing heart, and without expectation of receiving anything in return. The joy is found within the giving!

A great read for elementary aged kids and early middle grades alike. "Dolphin Adventure" kept my almost 7 year old, 8, 10, and 11 year olds equally engrossed. 5 stars!

[Trace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this a 3 star rating, my 5yo son gives it a 5 star, so we're compromising at 4 stars....

He adored it - it captured his attention from beginning to end. I felt it was a very simple read and didn't really capture my attention as much as I had hoped.

But we'll try Dolphin Treasure next... :)

[Laura Burkhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Kindergarten read aloud! My 5 year old loved it and we had to finish a little early because she HAD to find out what happened to baby dolphin. It got a little intense during dolphin surgery for my slightly squeamish animal lover, but she made it through and said, “how could I NOT give it five stars?”
She says: best part was when the baby dolphin got rescued, the scariest part was when the sharks came!”

[Rachel Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet novel for young kids, and is based on a true story. My kindergartner begged to keep going each time we reached the end of a chapter! We both love dolphins and anything that involves rescuing a baby animal is a win in my daughter’s mind. I highly recommend!

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's such a great story. I read this along with my daughter for her homeschool, and this book definitely intrigued her!

[The Jesus Fandom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made child me want to swim with dolphins. Haven’t done so yet.

[Madeline Etter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for our 5th grade adventure unit focusing on summarizing, story elements, and inference. It was a nice short read. Super cool it’s a true story, the kids thought that was super cool. Super engaging and fast paced

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

“This is one of the best, shortest book I have ever read. It is a true story about a man and three other dolphins. You don’t want to miss it. See you later, alligator.”
Levi, age 6
1st grade

[Hannah K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished reading this to my kindergarten class. The ones who understand English really enjoyed it! ☺ Our first read-aloud, instead of picture books, so I was worried it would bore them or they wouldn't be able to follow it, but they did pretty well. A good introduction to chapter books that don't have full-color pictures on every page!

[Katherine Lemieux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids looooved this book

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids would rate this much higher. They LOVED this (we're reading the sequel right now). It is short and simple and exciting. The only reason I don't rate it higher is that it's a bit too simple (for me). I can tell the author is trying to write so that kids can understand, but he restates things over and over...just changing the wording slightly. Sometimes I wanted to shake the book and yell, "Just get on with it."

But for all that it held their attention and they've spent time looking through the pictures when they should be doing math. The story itself is pretty incredible. I think this is worth checking out from the library for a family read or for reading up to junior high. A new chapter book reader would probably be able to handle this (each chapter is 3 to 4 pages long) and most of the words are fairly simple.

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a true story about Wayne Grover, a diver that helped rescue an injured dolphin. A family of dolphins came swimming up to Grover and he soon realized that they were in need of help because the baby dolphin had a fish hook stuck in his tail. Grover used what little resources he had to help the dolphin, and once the hook was removed sharks appeared that caused the dolphins to then disappear. What happens next is something that can not be given away. I would recommend this book to children ages 7 and older because it shows that family can come in many different forms and you can always ask for help. I think this book is lighthearted and has a great moral lesson.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story about a man's encounter with a family of dolphins while SCUBA diving. The young dolphin was in distress due to a fishing hook caught in his back. The story is riveting and I read it very quickly. I think our girls would like this tale a lot, especially since it is true.

May 2013 update: We read the book together and our girls were riveted. It's a quick read and they loved that it is a true story. We also liked the black and white illustrations of the dolphins. We noticed that there are two more stories about dolphins by the same author, and I will put them on hold at our local library right away.

[Emma Filbrun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wayne Grover tells the story of a dive he took off the coast of Florida, in the Gulf Stream. As he was swimming around, enjoying the beautiful sunny day and the fairyland around him 80 feet below the surface, a family of dolphins approached him. The baby was hesitant to come near a human, but his parents pushed him along. Wayne soon saw that the baby had a large fishing hook and line embedded in his tail, and the parents were asking for help for their baby.

Read my full review https://ignitelit.com/dolphin-adventure/

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my children. Heartwarming true story about a diver who saves a baby dolphin stuck by a fish hook and line.

[Rob Smith, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A gentle book of a dolphin encounter purported to be a true story, though what is written is odd in interaction with porpoises.

The story is simple. Guy meets dolphin. Guy helps dolphin. Guy marries dolphin. Well, that's not the story, but woulda been more interesting.
This was written for a younger set. Rather well written. Though there's a bit more schmaltz than maybe shoulda been in the tale.
There are plenty of tales of the finned ones and humans. The tales of dolphin being as bright as written here are more found in episodes of 'Flipper'.

Don't get me wrong. I have no doubt porpoises are smarter than humans. This is more a displacement and leans towards science fiction with the back and forth of the sea creatures and the human. Maybe it happened. Maybe the bloke found himself covered by a trio of dolphin in a mugging he didn't want to admit to.

Whatever, the situation, I believe the tale to be more fiction than true. The lovey-dovey stuff would'e best ben toned down. A touch of more lively writing and humor would've added a lot. Especially these days as children get so little of either.

Still a decent tale. Not that children would pick up of better literary efforts.

Artwork is well constructed with lots of reference intertwined.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 6 out of ten points.

[Lynell Nissley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for upper preschool/early elementary students! My 4yo and 6yo were enthralled with the story, and the illustrations are excellent, too. At one point, I flipped to a 2-pg spread depicting the author diving among coral, and they both gasped and said, “Wow! It’s beautiful!” Given that it’s black-and-white pencil sketches, that’s impressive! Some of the diving vocabulary probably went over my 4yo’s head, but he still followed the story well, and the illustrations are plentiful for clarifying some of the terminology.

[Anna Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sketches (some double full pages!) in this children's book are absolutely GORGEOUS, and the true story of Wayne Grover is an amazing one. He's doing a recreational dive when a mother, father, and injured baby dolphin approach him underwater. The baby needs a hook removed, or it will die, and they know the human will help them.

It's an incredible story with sharks, lamprey, lobsters and more... and it's beautifully told by an ex-Air Force seafarer and environmentalist. I didn't know there was more than one story that he'd written - now I really want to try to find the others!

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story about a diver who saves a baby dolphins life.

This is my second time reading this book. I read it to my older son and daughter and today to my 8 year old son. We both really enjoyed this book. It only took us 25 minutes to read the whole book. My 8 year old does not love sitting still and listening to me read, but he loved this book! He said he would give it 100 stars if he could. I also love that this is a true story!

[Aisley Faust · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great! I loved the part where the dad dolphin fights of the sharks. I didn't even know dolphins would or could do that. I thought that they just avoided sharks. I am also constantly surprised at the intelligence animals have. It would be so cool to be the diver those dolphins chose, although also kind of scary and intimidating because you know that that baby dolphins life depends on you and for me I wouldn't know what to do at all!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read, and the kids enjoyed it.
It's very simple - the language is basic, and the book is clearly written for young children.

To be honest, it felt it was a little too short, the writing choppy, but the kids actually liked it lot, and I have already bought the series so I will continue to read more with them. It only took us about ten minutes to read, so that was great.

[Kalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a read aloud for my Kindergartener. It was a very fast read, and since it had to do with animals she was completely enamored. It is an interesting little story about a scuba diver who ends up rescuing an injured baby dolphin. The way the dolphins communicated with this diver to signal that they needed help was fascinating!

[Jessi · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this as part of the Sonlight curriculum. We read through this pretty fast. My son loved the illustrations and became very invested in what would happen to the baby dolphin. We will most likely be reading this again at some point.

[NefariousButterfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for the kids where they can read or be read a beginning chapter book and still have plenty of beautiful illustrations. It only has 8 chapters and can be read in under an hour. But it keeps them interested and you learn a few diving terms. The adventure is cute and not scary.

[Melani Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells a great true story in an engaging way. I read it first to my oldest many years ago, and I am now remembering to go back and read some of these shorter wonderful books to my youngest children. They were all mesmerized by this story, and we will go on to the next book very soon.

[Samantha Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not bad. Dolphins are intelligent and are one of my favorite creatures. Thats why I was encouraged to listen to my mom reading it to my brother. I had many questions along the way that were answered. I am excited to read Dolphin Treasure.

[Ms. Brewer · Rating 5 out of 5]

4th Grader Review
"I rated this book 5 stars because: It is a rlay Good book. My favorite armise is Dolphin I like went he was diving 3 dolphin come up to him and ask for hlep. My favorite part is went he try to get a hoot out of the baby Dolphin and he got it out." RC

[Seeker of Truth · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best short reads that I’ve read and even better because it was a true story. Love how he slipped in pieces of underwater information like what SCUBA stands for. I would so want to be there.

[Kelse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for kids just starting out with chapter books. The chapters are short and sweet. We’ve read it twice as a family, and my kids love it! My 5yo especially loved it. I think it’s a great book for all ages, especially for kids that enjoy nature, and makes a good read aloud.