Dolphins!

Strange and Wonderful

by Laurence Pringle, Meryl Henderson (illustrator)

Introduces readers to dolphin species -- from the well-known bottlenose dolphin to several species of "blackfish" (including orcas) that most people believe are whales. Author Laurence Pringle's clear, informative text describes dolphins' habitats, physiology, communication, intelligence, parenting, what and how they eat, and much more. The book also discusses conservation and how dolphins can be protected from hunting, pollution, and other threats.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 5, 2019

Reviews

[June Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually write about the text of a book first and then discuss the illustrations. I'm going to break with tradition on this review because from the moment I opened this book, I was entranced by the illustrations! The artist, Meryl Henderson, has done a beautiful job of capturing the different kinds of dolphins presented by the author. Her scientific diagrams of their bodies and the interior of their heads are detailed and realistic. The underwater scenes are true-to-life and interesting.

This picture book presents an unbelievable amount of information in its thirty pages of text plus two pages of back matter. The author begins by sharing what the life of a young dolphin is like. This really draws in the reader. He moves on to scientific facts about dolphins and compares the species to whales and propoises. There are illustrations comparing these mammals which are labelled with the name and body length of each example. I loved this visual as it gave me a realistic idea of how these sea mammals compare to each other in size and appearance.

The author shares details about how the dolphins swim, dive, breach, eat, breath, and sleep. He does a fine job of explaining echolocation, which I found to be an amazing feature of dolphins. A section about dolphins as predators is eye-opening as it discusses how a school of hunting dolphins works together as a team in several ways to capture/conquer their prey.

Finally, the social aspects of the dolphin community and their amazing communcation skills are explained. Examples are given regarding the intelligence of these animals and how scientists use their observations to learn about how dolphins and other animals are smart.

I found the section on how dolphins are hunted by humans for meat and are negatively affected by fishing nets, water and air pollution, and heavy boat traffic to be poignant. This would be a great opportunity for a discussion about how and why these things happen and what man can do to change these dangers.

The back matter includes a thorough Glossary; a To Learn More section listing books, periodicals, websites, and sources; and an Index.

Highly-recommended to fans of oceanography, science, teachers/libarians, youth/scout/church groups, and learners of any age interested in reading more about this fascinating species!

I borrowed this book from the non-fiction shelves in the children's collection of the local public library.

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[Sojourn & Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sojourn and Ransom learned about echolocation and that dolphins recurve their echoes through bones in their chins. They also really liked the pictures.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty and accurate illustrations support this great nonfiction book for kids. I find the illustrations enrich the reading experience; it's a nice alternative to realistic photos. The entire Strange and Wonderful series is a great set of books for animal-facts-loving kids.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the latest addition to the Strange and Wonderful series for young naturalists, dolphins take center stage. Author Laurence Pringle introduces readers to a variety of dolphins, including dusky, orca, vaquita, spinner, and rough-toothed, as he artfully weaves content and vocabulary into his informational text. Dolphin species are accompanied by illustrations and species designation, and, in some cases, additional information about their habitats, anatomies (a diagram of a bottlenose dolphin with key body parts), communication, and other behavioral characteristics. The book concludes with descriptions of threats to dolphins (such as mass strandings, illegal hunting, and destruction of habitat) and the need for people to protect them.