Book Reviews

May 2009

We all love books – they educate us, inspire us, take us on incredible journeys and help us to remember times past. Each month, WDCS will be recommending a selection of books; whether new or old, topical or just a jolly good read!

We would love to hear from you – if you have a book you would like us to review, comment on a book we have previously recommended or even write a review yourself please get in touch. Email Jess at education@wdcs.org.

WDCS’s book of the month! - Where the Forest meet the Sea
By Jeannie Baker
Walker Books
ISBN: 9780744513059

A young Australian boy's father takes him by boat to a tropical rainforest in North Queensland, Australia. “Not many people go there, and you have to know the way through the reef”. As the boy walks among the trees, he imagines the forest as it might have been in the past. Dinosaurs faintly emerge in the pages; an aboriginal child comes into view in a background of trees. “But will the forest still be here when we come back?” he wonders. Jeannie Baker's award winning lifelike collage illustrations take us on an extraordinary journey to a magical wilderness, which like so many others is now being threatened by human beings. A brilliant book for children to discuss in class with their teacher.

Wild Blue by Dan Bortolotti, 2008, St. Martin’s Press, ISBN: 9780312383879.Reviewed by Erich Hoyt, WDCS Senior Research Fellow.

Wild Blue is a sweeping tour of the blue whale. No aspect is left uncovered, including management, genetics, whaling, acoustics. Yet most engaging are the field studies, e.g., splashing around with Richard Sears – the first person to crack the blue whale photo-ID code and the person best able to make the claim of having lived with blue whales.

The key challenge to writing a good whale book is how to deal with the wealth of unpublished material. Whale science is still young and in process. Even scientific papers and reports can be sketchy and dated; thus much of what is known is carried around in the heads of frontline researchers.

In the best journalistic tradition, Dan Bortolotti interviews, investigates, weighs evidence, compares spoken and written accounts of these frontline researchers and emerges with a well written, entertaining result. Bortolotti doesn’t simply say that blues live to age X but brings you in on the debate about how whales are aged – using ovaries, waxplugs, amino acid in the lens of the eye.

The blue whale is an iconic animal – huge, endangered yes, but surprisingly alive and present just off our shores. Once numbering some 300,000, today it’s more like 10,000. And it is only now and neatly summed up in Wild Blue, that we clearly see what we almost lost.

Animal Life - The definitive visual guide to animals and their behaviour
Charlotte Uhlenbroek
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781405322157
Publisher: Dorling Kindersley

Reviewed by Fenella Gerry, WDCS Education Coordinator

There is so much crammed into this visually spectacular book, you might be tempted (as I am now while sitting at my desk!) to day dream over the wonders of the natural world that come alive through the incredible photography. However, Animal Life is not just a photographic exploration – it is a detailed guide through the diversity and the many complexities of animal behaviour, from evolution to intelligence. This is an addictive read, so many fascinating facts and so many precious moments captured by camera.

Whales, Dolphins and Seals: A Field Guide to the Marine Mammals of the World (Paperback)
by Hadoram Shirihai and Brett Jarrett
A&C Black
ISBN: 9780713670370
£12.99
Reviewed by Rob Lott, WDCS Policy Manager

This beautifully illustrated and informative text has fast become the definitive guide to the marine mammals of the world. With bang up to date information on these enigmatic animals - including the three subtypes of Antarctic orca and the recently recognised snubfin dolphin - this comprehensive book is an essential addition to any natural historians library.

KIDS BOOK zone! Some GRReat reading
Zoo-ology, by Joelle Jolivet.
Publisher: Egmont
ISBN: 9781405243407
Price: £12.99 (paperback)
Age range: All! If you love animals, you will love this beautiful book. On each page you will find animals of different shapes and sizes - animals that have stripes or spots, animals that like hot or cold climates. There are over 300 different species to spot! It is a truly wonderful book that is brilliant for your classroom at school or to treasure at home. The glossary at the back has lots of useful and fascinating facts about all your favourite animals. We love this book!.

This morning I met a whale
By Michael Morpurgo
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 9781406306460
Price: £7.99 (hardback)
Age range: 7+

Many of you will remember the tragic event that took place in January 2006, when a northern bottlenose whale stranded in the River Thames. This morning I met a whale follows the event through a young boys special relationship with the whale. The whale brings an important message to young Michael - humans must mend the damage they are doing to the planet before it is too late. Michael Morpurgo is a brilliant author, his previous books include Dolphin BoyWhy the whales came. This morning I met a whale takes us on a powerful and emotional journey with Michael and a very brave whale - but Morpurgo gives us a challenge too, to help pass on the whales message.

Would you like to write a review of This morning I met a whale? We would love to hear your thoughts! Email: education@wdcs.org

Zabu, by Doris Thomas.
>Reviewed by Ruby Wood (aged 9)
Publisher: Este GmbH
ISBN: 7983868651010
Price: £7.99 (hardback)
Age range: 7+

Zabu is a young orca who one morning becomes separated from his mother and the rest of the family by a huge fishing net. He must swim right around the outside of the dangerous net to get back to them. So he sets out on his journey back to his family but has adventures on the way. He watches Pete the sperm whale fight a giant octopus; he protects a baby humpback whale from a shark attack and races with a dolphin. Finally he is able to find his family again by following the advice given to him by beluga whales. I liked this book because it had a happy ending when the family are reunited! I also loved learning about different kinds of whales and dolphins and each is special.