冰海之鯨

by Jean Craighead George, 黃琪瑩 (Translator)

一段跨越兩百年的人鯨交流
一場對海洋最關切的呼籲！
這是一本集護鯨、環保、人鯨關係於一體的小說

※專請科普作家張東君老師導讀與賞析
※特邀王建平教授審閱書中「鯨知識」

這本書從北極海延伸到阿拉斯加的無人苔原，如詩歌般美好的敘述了鯨與人心靈相契的傳說。

故事背景雖在遙遠寒冷的北極海，卻充滿溫暖的情誼。它不僅細膩描述了鯨的習性，也描述了愛斯基摩人與環境、生物的關係。迫害大自然最甚的元凶，正是人類過度的開發和貪婪的人性。在地球暖化問題日益嚴重的今日，這樣一本書值得推薦給每一位地球公民，尤其是世界未來的主人──當今的青少年──讓大家都能好好省思，為了留得更好的生存環境，應當如何節制自己。

在美國第一次進入北極海捕鯨後，短短的時間裡，鯨與海象的數量就快速減少。圖薩一世因為誤信捕鯨人，不慎透露了弓頭鯨的棲息海域，使得鯨遭大量獵捕而受到詛咒。他和他的子孫必須守護一頭出生時就和他照面，並定下很深的默契的弓頭鯨「西苦」，直到西苦救助了圖薩家族的人為止。圖薩家族遵守這個護鯨的使命，更移居到弓頭鯨經常出沒的海域附近尋找西苦，並隨時做好提醒牠避難的準備。

他們偶爾會見到西苦友善的躍出水面招呼，也幾次有效的保護了西苦免於獵殺。西苦一百五十幾歲時由於一次尾鰭遭魚叉和繩子勾住，圖薩六世的女兒愛蜜莉為了割斷纏在牠身上的繩子而摔落流冰。脫困的西苦用嘴頂著流冰，讓昏迷的愛蜜莉靠岸。他們互相救助，終於解除了詛咒。

西苦兩百歲時，牠與愛蜜莉的兒子阿戈比在海上見面，並用牠溫和的眼神和行動表示願意獻身阿戈比。

Genres: Historical Fiction, Animals, Middle Grade, Fiction, Childrens, Nature, Young Adult

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2014

About the author

Jean Craighead George wrote over eighty popular books for young adults, including the Newbery Medal-winning Julie of the Wolves and the Newbery Honor book My Side of the Mountain. Most of her books deal with topics related to the environment and the natural world. While she mostly wrote children's fiction, she also wrote at least two guides to cooking with wild foods, and an autobiography, Journey Inward.

The mother of three children, (Twig C. George, Craig, and T. Luke George) Jean George was a grandmother who joyfully read to her grandchildren since the time they were born. Over the years Jean George kept one hundred and seventy-three pets, not including dogs and cats, in her home in Chappaqua, New York. "Most of these wild animals depart in autumn when the sun changes their behaviour and they feel the urge to migrate or go off alone. While they are with us, however, they become characters in my books, articles, and stories."

Reviews

[Danna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing and fantastic. There is a reason kids reading Jean Craighead George’s books grow up to be naturalists.

[Suzanne Roq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, interesting book that follows the life of a whale and its repeated interactions through generations of two families- one, descendants of native Inuit Alaskans, and the other, of American Yankee whalers. The audio inserts recordings of whale songs which is pretty neat but I think the story would be just as good in print.

[Challice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventurous story as only Jean Craighead George can tell! This follows the story of a bowhead whale from birth until the year 2048, as well as Eskimo Toozak and his family and how the whale is a part of their life.

It begins when the whaling ships were at their peak enterprise. Toozak has the good luck to see a baby whale being born but also commits a dead that sends many whales to their death as well as places a curse upon his family. Young Toozak seeks the counsel of the wise Eskimo of the village who tells him that the blessing of seeing the whale being born is also going to be the curse he and his family will have-- and that is to take care of the whale and protect it until the whale saves a member of his family or gives himself up for it. And so begins a generation of watching over Sitku, the whale. It was fascinating to me that one of the strengths this culture has was the fact of passing down it's family story for generation to generation. What a beautiful legacy.

There is so much history geography, and natural science packed into this book. A living book to be sure. George uses sound waves to portray when Sitku is speaking and its such a beautiful imagery in a readers mind and just sets the scene for an enriching experience.

I really loved how George kept true to the culture of the natives. The vivid descriptions when one of the characters is surviving on the ice looking for food and shelter is just beautiful. It made me think of D'Aulairs Children of the Northern Lights and a bit of Leif Erikkson with its imagination and accurate retelling. George passed away before completing her book but her sons finished it for her and I could not tell where she ended and they picked up. I was thrilled to learn that she visited Alaska and experienced the land and culture in order to accurately write this story.

As a Christian, something to be aware of are the fact of the cultural beliefs. Great discussion points with your older readers. It is recommended for ages 9 and up, and I would ascertain that to be an accurate reading level. I think any younger and my children would loose the richness of the story because of the conversations we would have over curses and cultural beliefs over what we believe to be biblical true. Again, just something that I think I would choose for my own family, but I believe everyone should make this decision for their own. The whole premise of the story is to watch the whale grow from suckling to elderly and the changes of the threats made, their migrating patterns depending on dangers that lie in wait, and how culturally the Alaskan natives evolved over time.

4 stars, I really enjoyed it and it will have a permanent home on my shelf.

[Becca Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fantastic story set in Barrow, Alaska! I was a little leery thinking it might be overly biased and preachy. On the contrary, I thought it was very true to the culture of Eskimos. There was the tiniest mention of evolution which I'm perfectly fine with reading. The character Emily Toozak really inspired my 8 year old!

[Tamara York]

DNF page 70. Beautifully illustrated but too depressing. I didn’t find myself connected to the story at all.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ice Whale tells the stories of a bowhead whale, Siku, and an Eskimo family. The story begins in 1848, when a young Eskimo boy, Toozak, witnesses a whale being born. This is really, really rare. (In fact, it is only in the last couple of years that anyone has actually witnessed the birth of a right (bowhead) whale. Toozak's sighting in Ice Whale is fictional.) Unfortunately, Toozak is young and naive and accidentally leads American whalers right to the whale's pod. The village shaman tells Toozak that he and his family are now cursed, and must watch over Siku until either a member of the family saves Siku or Siku saves a member of the family.

I thought the curse aspect of the story would involve more mysticism, but alas... it did not. The book reads much more like "curse" = "banishment." But there is still the aspect where Siku talks to other whales and to the descendants of Toozak! That's an awesome detail.

Every generation names their first-born "Toozak." Eventually we get to a generation where the first-born is a girl; even she's named "Emily Toozak" in fulfillment of the shaman's orders. There was one point in the book where I got just a little turned around with all the Toozaks, but that could just be because I was quite tired while reading it. It's a middle grades book, so it shouldn't take much brain power, but there's a lot of info in this little gem!

Because the book covers many generations of Toozak's family, we don't get to know any of them very well. However, their lack of dimensionality doesn't detract from the story- the main story is the whale, and the main "selling point" of the book is the setting and the zoology. The reader does get to know Siku pretty well. The anthropomorphism is done very well- I truly felt like I was getting an inside look at whale society. It didn't read like some little kids' magic animal book; I felt Siku's rhythms and movements and saw the coast of Alaska through his giant eyes.

That brings me to another major winning point with Ice Whale- the setting and zoology. I get cold easily, and live in the American southeast, but Jean Craighead George's writing made me want to visit Alaska! The descriptions of the ice and the coast weren't overly wordy but were sweeping. Also, the way that she works actual factual zoology into the story is excellent. When I finished the book, I realized I had learned so much about the bowhead whales, and I never knew it was happening during the reading! (There's also an afterword that clarifies and summarizes a lot of the information from the story.)

Overall, a good book. Newberry Award winner Jean Craighead George has definitely not lost her touch with prose in this final novel. The curse aspect combined with the "whalish" makes this a very unique book as well.

[༺Kiki༻ · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you liked this book, you might also enjoy:

✱ Call of the Whales
✱ Written in Stone
✱ Between Two Worlds
✱ The Gaslight Dogs
✱ Birchbark House series

[Benji Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved George's books since way back when I was in fourth grade and first read My Side of the Mountain. I was sad when she died, and very happy when I saw that there would be one more book. It's a lovely book. It isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it very much. It's got some Julie of the Wolves flavor.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

JCG was finishing this book when she died. Her son Craig and daughter Twig did the final editing and brought it to publication.

Here she tells the story of a bowhead whale, Siku, from birth to death (a 200 year span). A young Yup'ik Eskimo boy, Toozak, witnessed the birth and made eye contact with the 'baby,' an event which was considered a great privilege. Of course, since this occurred in 1848, whalers not only appear on the scene, they made me wary. I really dislike everything about whalers. It's too painful to read about the destruction of these gentle giants. (The 'gentle' is my perception of whales, not totally factual, I know.)

Interesting: She made up symbols to represent whale 'talk.' It works! And it emphasizes the fact that whales communicate with each other.

But the story isn't really about the Yup'iks, nor about whaling. The focus is on bowhead whales and their Arctic environment. With a life span of 200 years, bowheads far outlive any one human, thus we not only meet Toozak, we meet many generations of his descendants. This provides an opportunity to describe the changing Eskimo lifestyle, but it doesn't allow for much character development. (I lost track of the generations somewhere midway through the book, but that doesn't really matter.)

The various people she introduces often "touch their cheeks." There must have been some significance to this action that I missed. Maybe someone will enlighten me.
ex on p 147: She touched her cheek again.

p 143: As [Emily] continued up the river, the wind stopped. Suddenly she was in a storm of mosquitoes. She had met them before and knew what to do—pull her parka hood tighter, then grin and bear it. Hundreds crept up her nose and swarmed on her lips. She ate them. They were good! Licking mosquitoes off her lips, savoring their sweet lemony tase, she headed west up the river.
So how many kids taste mosquitos after reading this? I'm tempted.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't know that this was Jean Craighead George's last book when I picked it up. In fact, I don't know why I even grabbed it at the library, except I was probably drawn in by the cover. Now I want to read or reread all of her books.

I was torn between three stars or four, but ultimately it was a little hard to follow for the first half or so because of the changing characters and rapidly advancing timeline. None of the people are around long enough to really delve into their stories deeply, but the "character" you get to know the most is the whale. If you can follow it through the early chapters, I think it's a solid read for any child interested in whales and Alaskan/Arctic culture.

Surprisingly, when one of the key plot points involved a shaman and a curse, I was questioning whether I would want my child to read it and be exposed to those ideas. Then I sat with that thought for a while and wondered why I had such a strong reaction to it. I realized that I wanted in a way to "whitewash" the story and the culture because it didn't line up with what I believe to be true spiritually. In the end, I realized that it is important to be true to what people and cultures actually believed and practiced, even if it makes us uncomfortable, and that I ultimately want my kids to be exposed to other ideas and ways of thinking so we can discuss what we do and don't agree with and why.

[Janet DeCastro · Rating 3 out of 5]

MG, HISTORICAL FICTION, ALASKA, WHALING
"Ice Whale" covers the 200 year span 1848-2048: of a Bowhead Whale named Siku, an Eskimo boy named Toozak (and his descendants), and a Yankee Whaling family named Boyd (and their descendants). In 1848 Toozak is tasked by a Shaman to watch over and protect Siku because he unwittingly led Yankee Whalers to a pod of whales which were slaughtered for their oil and baleen. This is not the "Eskimo way." In the story whaling methods and the intelligence of the whales evolves over time. We follow the whales through the seasons as they migrate to breeding and feeding grounds - always wary of boats, men and Orcas, their natural enemy. The generations of Toozaks seem to have a spiritual connection to the whale Siku (who has a distinguishing mark on his chin - a dancing Eskimo) as he ages and survives the many human generations. Yankee whaling dies out due to the discovery of "oil" on land and the newer generation(s) of Boyd's transform to naturalists....and intermarry with the Toozak clan. A state of peace is realized between the Eskimos, White people and the whales..... The pacing is slow and low on the tension scale. This book would probably be more appreciated by adult readers or children who are into nature.

[Emma M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I think about all the time.
The first time I read it, I remember skipping some parts, and picked it up again later on. It was like a completely different story to me that second time. I learned so much about whales, whale hunting and the development of the Alaskan region. It also is the kind of book that leaves you with questions, which I love. The last chapter was written after the author’s death by her son, and it’s set years in the future. It is fascinating. It predicts what the Tuzak legacy is, as well as the future of the land and those who protect it.

It is a book written for middle grade, I believe and you see that in the style, but when you take a step back and look at all the information and the stories woven into it, it really is for all ages.

A great article to accompany this read would be: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/wh...

It really supplements the information in the book and fills in the gaps.

[Malissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked that this book scratched the itch for something similarly connected to nature and ethnically different as Julie of the Wolves by George. But this book's structure made it hard to connect with the characters so it fell flat. The book spans this whale's 200-year life, but there's not much to say about the whale's experiences so the pages are mostly filled with the experiences of the family that is connected to the whale. But this is a short book, so only a few chapters about each generation. The whale was meaningful, the people's connections to the whale and the land were meaningful, but the people weren't meaningful and they are what filled most of the pages. I found it interesting to learn a little about whaling. Makes me want to give Moby Dick a try sooner rather than later.

[Allison Turkish · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audio version of this book is quite lovely although I thought the end was abrupt. (Apparently the author died before finishing the book and her children finished it.)

Siku is a Bowhead whale to love. And Toozik and his ancestors revered the whale and were respectful of whales and nature.

I enjoyed learning about these large baleen whales and their migration patterns as well as whaling history. I especially appreciate the parts of the book where we learn what humans do to endanger these beautiful beasts. Having some chapters of the book from the perspective of the whale really helps the reader better understand and value whales. Also, I was impressed at the span of the book: 1848-2048.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first we had a difficult time plowing through because of the descriptions of whale hunting, but in spite of that, this was a wonderful and very educational read! I learned a lot about bow head whales and have a new respect for them and the relationship the Alaska Natives have with them. We enjoyed the second half of the book telling about Toozak's descendants more than the 1st half. My daughter was still thinking about this story several weeks after we read it as evidenced by the whale artwork she created and pictures of a little girl rowing through a mosquito swarm in a boat full of bird eggs.

Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Bkrieth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jean Craighead George's deep appreciation for the natural world and a concern for conservation of the animals and environments it contains were evident throughout this novel. I also appreciated the respect shown for indigenous cultures and life ways, though without personal specific knowledge of the people of the Arctic, I cannot confirm the accuracy of George's portrayal. While understanding the use of a sweeping timeline and generational central characters, I found the story line harder to embrace due to the ever-changing human actors. This did even out toward the end as we were allowed to follow Emily and her intersection with Siku.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of an eskimo boy who witnesses the birth of a Bowhead or Ice Whale with unique markings that allow him to be recognized. He calls the whale Siku. The eskimo boy converses with Yankee whalers and unintentionally informs them where to find whales. This causes a whole pod of Bowhead Whales to be killed. The young man is banished for the foolish act and his children are banished as well. Year after year he and his family encounter Siku. Generations later, one of his granddaughters saves Siku and his pod which removes the banishment. The story is told from various points of view, including different members of the family and Siku.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 3rd book in our Alaska reading crate, this was intended for middle grade children. I started it as a read aloud with my 6yr old but she pushed back enough times when I offered to read it that I finished it on my own. Funny thing is that once I said I had finished she asked what happened to the whale...so she was listening and interested after all!

I really enjoyed how as time passed the family members (and technology) evolved but still remained somewhat the same. It was a sweet story and, had my daughter stuck it out, would be a great introduction to different science-y jobs.

[LillyAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book to read, it was especially unique and bold, however it had an important theme one in which the readers will definitely remember and take to heart. After reading this heart wrenching tail of the everlasting bond between nature and man over time, the strength that remains and grows old with time. I really appreciate this book and it is quite the legacy for us to remember Mrs. Jean by and a memorable one too.May she rest in peace knowing she inspired generations, ahead of her time.

[Jessica Cockroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Craighead George was a childhood favorite of mine. This is her last book, and it was actually finished after her death in 2012. It’s a bit of a slower, reflective book, not having so much of a plot centered around one person, but more of a multi-generational story that grows around the relationship between a blowhead whale and an Eskimo family who watches and protects the whale. I enjoyed the historical bits about the whaling industry and Eskimo people as they changed and adapted over time yet still held to the values of the previous generation.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jean Craighead George's last novel...and she didn't fail to deliver. I believe it was actually finished by her children after she passed away but by using her manuscripts for the story. It's set in Alaska, and tells abit about the native Eskimos there and what it took for them to survive, as well as following the life of a certain whale.

[Jessi Riel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how the generations of family members and their interactions with the bowhead whale highlighted his longevity and told the story of the past and a hopeful future for the bowheads. It was a super neat idea for a story, and I’m so glad Jean Craigehead George’s family and editor finished the publication.

[Rebecca Smo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever intervoven story of a bowhead whale's life. As the authors last book, finished post-mortem by her family, I missed the great character development we find in her earlier books. Human characters come & go throughout the story. Siku, the whale, is the main character.

[Audiobook Accomplice (Gillian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sort of uneven, kinda depressing, ultimately hopeful. But ALWAYS a solid and wonderful look at Nature and Animals of Feeling
My Full Review

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids and I thoroughly enjoyed working through this book together. The span of history and Alaska native history it taught was expertly woven with great story telling. A book that I will likely add to our personal library.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommend as an audio book, so you can hear the authentic whale sounds. We want to go find whales in the wild :)

[Sylviane Stoltzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, I’ve enjoyed another book by Jean Craighead George. I loved both the human and whale perspective, and following along Siku’s life. Great story!

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great children's book. Quick read and a wondrous look into the Arctic Circle region where some of my own cousins live.

[Abby Obert · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

[Kimberly Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and thoughtfully told. I love Jean Craighead George’s writing, and her last novel did not disappoint. Spans 1848-2048.