The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings

Scientists in the Field

by Fran Hodgkins

They began as land creatures. Then, for more plentiful food, or so scientists believe, whales made the water their home and evolved into the colossal, majestic creatures of the sea that we know today—the same majestic creatures that humans learned to hunt and kill: first for food and then for oil, soap, candles, furniture, and even waspwaist corsets. Rich in meat, blubber, bone, and baleen, the whale served so many purposes for humans that its stranding was seen as a gift from the sea.But now, with their numbers diminished worldwide, whales have become the subject of scientific study. Humans hunt now for a deeper understanding of cetaceans. Why would the world’s largest mammal do something that would most likely cause it to die? Around the world, scientists are trying to find the answer.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals

64 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 2007

About the author

Fran Hodgkins always loved nature and science, and loved writing as well, so it seemed only logical that she would grow up to write about science and nature for children. Her first book, The Orphan Seal, received the Henry Bergh Children's Book Award from the ASPCA. Her book How People Learned to Fly is an exemplar in the Common Core ELA standards.

Fran has written more than 20 books for young readers. Her most recent, The Secret Galaxy, came out in October 2014 from Tilbury House Publishers.

Fran lives in Midcoast Maine.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly, I do tend to be pretty stingy with regard to my five star ratings. And in particular with non fiction tomes geared towards younger readers, I will usually find something that even with books I highly recommend will make me consider four and sometimes even only three stars (and with the usual culprits being a lack of a bibliography or with omissions that I personally and intellectually consider problematic information oversights). And with Fran Wilkins’ 2007 The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings, it is precisely the fact that for one, Wilkins has included a not only appreciated but also a sufficiently lengthy and detailed list of suggestions for further reading (a bibliography listing both books and online sources and also the author’s personal communication with the whale scientists presented) and that for two, she equally has featured a short but informative section on both cetacean evolution and on whaling (not to mention that Fran Wilkins for me both appreciatively names and shames countries like Japan that are still commercially whaling) which does bring my star ranking for The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings to a solid and very well deserved five stars.

For while The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings and the details about whales stranding themselves and how scientists are trying to solve the reasons as to why and how to prevent this (or at least the human caused reasons why, and in particular issues with different types of ocean pollution, including noise pollution) are most certainly educational and interesting, it is for me as mentioned above the information about the evolution of whales, that author Fran Wilkins does not shy away from being totally condemning about any and all commercial whaling and that the included bibliographic materials are absolutely outstanding which truly do provide the icing on the cake and renders The Whale Scientists: Solving the Mystery of Whale Strandings very much and most highly recommended and not only for the intended audience of older children above the age of nine or so, but in fact also for interested adults who might want a basic introduction to whales and the science, the reasons for whale strandings but without textual convolutedness, a delightfully educational but at the same time also thought provoking text, where both Fran Wilkins and the whale scientists she features make readers both think and to realise that whales both need and deserve our protection and our help (and where the many colour photographs provide a very decent aesthetic accompaniment to the author’s printed words).

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep book though a little dry which seemed odd given the topic...

OK, I couldn't resist. The puns are right there. Waiting for me.

Seriously, a solid book about whales with focus on stranding. Honestly I had no idea it happened that often. Or that there were so many different types of whales. Or so much work put into solving the riddles of why whales strand. Overall this is a great series with one more solid offering to the list of titles. There's enough pictures to keep young readers interested, with a good amount of information designed to intrigue and make you not only want to go deeper, but to find the answers yourself. Even **I** want to a scientist at this point...

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had just read in some esoteric book about U.S. government experiments with underwater sonar being responsible for whale strandings before picking up this book. I thought it was one of those paranoid conspiracy theories, but the same theory is also mentioned in this book, another volume in the Scientists in the Field series. Whale scientists are trying to determine what causes whales to strand, and underwater sonar tests is just one theory of several. Prolonged exposure to these sounds may be stressing the whales into stranding themselves, or interfering in their navigation, or damaging their "hearing". I found it quite interesting.

In fact, everything about this book fascinated me. Hodgkins starts out by discussing how whales evolved, the history of whaling, and the endangered state of some whales today. The next chapter talked about different theories as to why whales strand themselves. In addition to government sonar testing, other factors could be geomagetism, weather like El Nino affecting ocean currents, illness, injury, and exposure to toxins. The third chapter describes what the whale scientists can learn from visiting whale strandings. The last chapter recounts a successful and an unsuccessful rescue of stranded whales by the Cape Cod Stranding Network.

The photos were beautiful, the text was engaging and held my interest, and it left me wanting to know more. What more can you ask from a science book? Students should love this one!

[Grace Cantrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Summary: Did you know whales began as land creatures? This book states how humans learned to hunt and kill whales: first for food and then for oil, soap, candles, furniture, and even wasp waist corsets. The whale had served so many purposes for humans that its stranding was seen as a gift from the sea. Research has been on these creatures because their numbers are decreasing. The book answers the question, "what causes whales to leave the ocean and become stranded on land" through a research study. Some of the possible causes listed in the book include man-made noises, weather or the activity of the sun, and illness or injury.

Evaluation: I like how the book uses a lot of scientific vocabulary then provides a vocabulary for students to interpret what the word means. I like how all the pictures in the book have a caption underneath it describing what the picture is showing. I do not recommend this book for grades younger than 4th.


Teaching: This book is a great resource to offer students who are doing a book report on whales. You can have your students do a nonfiction scavenger hunt using this book because it has all the traditional text features of a good nonfiction book as well. My lesson would help students achieve this standard, ELAGSE2RI5: Know and use various text features (e.g., captions, bold print, subheadings, glossaries, indexes, electronic menus, icons) to locate key facts or information in a text efficiently.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this book is a tad dated, being over a decade old now (published in 2007), it still has a lot of interesting information about how scientists are trying to figure out why whales strand themselves on beaches. It also has a chapter on how people try to help stranded whales. Includes lots of good photos and a few drawings. The author includes a list of sources, a glossary and an index.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Whale strandings are, unfortunately, a very real problem. In 2002 alone, the Cape Cod Stranding Network responded to 296 strandings, including one mass stranding. So what, exactly, causes whales to become stranded on the beach?

Scientists and marine biologists have no clear-cut answers, but they have several theories. Hearing damage, confusing geography, magnetic attractions, illness and injury, toxins, and instinctual whale behavior all seem to play a part in causing whales to strand. Whales, by nature, are pod mammals, and their very reluctance to leave an injured or sick member of their pod very often leads to mass strandings. Fishing nets and the hunting of whales also seems to play a part in confusing these gentle creatures.

There are several agencies throughout the United States -- and the world -- who work diligently to rescue those stranded whales who wash up on shore alive. For those who are already dead, or who die quickly after being stranded, necropsies (autopsies on animals) are performed to determine not only the cause of death, but to help in prevention of further strandings in the future.

THE WHALE SCIENTISTS is an informative look at a widespread problem that is perfect for either a classroom library or those who are looking for an in-depth look at whale strandings.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational/Junior Book
This book provides some history on whale and human interaction, and discusses the mystery of whale strandings and possible causes.
Science Content and Reading Level.
I am interested to know the age level that this series of books is geared toward. The book is very informative on the topic of whales and strandings, but this is a complex topic and some of the vocabulary seems would be difficult for even a mature reader. The book does include a nice glossary at the end of the book for readers to look up potentially confusing words. The science content covered is really excellent, of particular note are the potential causes for whale strandings, and the detailed history of whale/human interactions. There is also a detailed section on the necropsy of whales, even what is required to perform a necropsy on a beach. I am not sure that this was a necessary addition to this section since the average person will not be performing this procedure. I can see this book being very interesting to those who enjoy science and in particular marine science, but I could also see students who struggle in these areas being frustrated by the content covered in this book.

This book would be a wonderful addition to a lesson on marine life, and the impact that humans have on the ecosystem.

[Davina Cuffee · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Junior Book-Informational

2. Due to multiple stranding of whales on the beach, researchers have been studying the causes for this issue. Even though stranding still occurs often, researchers are able to get more information from each whale which will decrease stranding and increase the whale population.

3a. Unknown science

3b. This book provides many details that we don’t hear about regularly. It provided details on prehistoric whales and some of the possible causes of stranded whales

3c. During a necropsy of a dead whale, scientists “swab the esophagus and blowhole for infection, take samples of mucus for bacteria and parasites, and cut through FOOT thick blubber and take three-centimeter square samples of the liver, kidneys, heart, and all other organs” (p 40). The book also discusses how whales used to look like wolves with sharp teeth, long tails, and four legs!

4. I like to lead students into discussions with “Did You Know?” responses, and I think this book is great for that. One questions would be “Did you know that whales knew how to make music?”

[Savannah Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nonfiction provides a fairly thorough introduction for young readers to the whale world. The first chapter explains whale genealogy, evolution, and whaling history/human encounters. This provides a perfect transition into the next couple of chapters which discuss the mystery of whale strandings and their causes; hearing damage, magnetic attractions, weather, and injury or illness to name a few. The book also covers the data and information that scientists are collecting from such strandings, helping us to further develop our understanding of these incredible creatures. In addition, the book provides a glossary for defining whale and porpoise terminology. The book also has numerous photographs and illustrations that further expand the reader's knowledge of the topics being discussed. Would recommend for readers 4th grade and up.

[Autumn Farlett]

Summary
The first topic this book tells about is the history of whales and why people started whaling. Then it talks about how we got to the point of whales being endangered and how we are working to improve that. But then it starts addressing the real topic of this book. The mystery of why whales get stranded on beaches. The book addresses many different theories and talks about the research that supports them. Next, it talks about what it looks like when scientists try to study a whale to figure out why it stranded. Finally, it discusses a stranded whale and its story of recovery ad being released back into the ocean.

Evaluation
I like this book because it provides many facts about whales all in one condensed place.

Teaching Point
I would use this book as a resource when teaching my students about writing an informational aper and using outside rescources. This would be a good rescource to use for a paper about whales.

[Bre Crose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Whale Scientists is a nonfiction book written by Fran Hodgkins. This book discusses the science behind whales beaching themselves on shores. It is a smaller chapter book. While there are only 53 pages in the book, each section is broken into chapters 1 through 4. Chapter 1 discusses the history of whales and how they actually started as land animals. Chapter 2 discusses why whales strand themselves ashore. Chapter 3 discusses the difficulty of answering why whales strand themselves. Lastly, chapter 4 talks about how tragedy can be paired with triumph. For example, the book ends with discussing how 30 "false killer whales" were stranded on the beach in the Florida Keys because their "friend" was stranded and died three days later. This led to the question of loyalty in our water mammals. I would have this book in my classroom, especially to introduce a "Chapter book" in upper elementary.

[Trent Marv · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this is another good short little book. It starts with a brief history of the evolution and diversity of whales before going onto the long and tragic history of exploitation that whales went through by mankind. It then covers what strandings are, various reasons why they may happen what scientists learn/ how they process dead whales, and how some people save whales that do strand.
My only criticism would be how I wish they went a little more in detail on how whales evolved and their present diversity but aside from that it's a good resource on info regarding whale stranding

[Joleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating book about the evolution of whales to the scientists trying to save them. Part of the Scientists in the Field series in local libraries.

[Abby Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and informative book about whales and theories about why they strand. Hodgkins starts with the evolution of whales and a brief history of humans' interaction with whales. She then goes into information about whale strandings and examines several theories as to why whales might strand. She includes several pages of source notes, a glossary, and an index at the end. Hand this one to your favorite young marine biologist wannabe.

[Captmashpea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really interesting, a good book for kids who like whales.