Whales (First Discovery Books) [Hardcover]

Gallimard Jeunesse (Author), Claude Delafosse (Author), Ute Fuhr (Author), Raoul Sautai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993 | Age Level: 4 and up | Series: First Discovery Books

The majestic humpback whale leaps into the air, the skeleton of the ocean's biggest animal is exposed, and various water mammals are identified in the pages and exquisite transparent overlays of this innovative learning tool.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3-An appealing format is this book's chief asset. Strong, plastic-coated pages are encased in a spiral binding; vivid paintings accompany the minimal text on almost every page. Succinctly described, but placed in random order, are a few physical and behavorial characteristics common to all whales; the basic differences between toothed and baleen varieties; and one or two special characteristics of the 15 different species depicted. Assorted other creatures are also shown, such as the giant squid, walrus, and manatee, but they are merely mentioned. Most, but not all, of the animals are identified by common name; some captions include average body lengths. Six paintings of whales appear on transparent plastic pages, engineered to show one or more from different angles while employing the same background. In the most interesting illustration, one side of the page shows a whale swimming alongside a small fish; when the page is turned, cutaway diagrams reveal the animals' skeletal systems. Another such painting shows the birth of a calf. While the book is visually exciting, the information is limited. More detailed, better-organized material on anatomy and behavior is available in Gail Gibbons's Whales (Holiday, 1991). Millicent Selsam and Joyce Hunt's A First Look at Whales (Walker, 1980) gives more data on the differences between the two types of whales.
Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover
• Publisher: Scholastic; Spi edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590471309
• ISBN-13: 978-0590471305
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #363,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book!, November 12, 2002

By 

A. Tesmer (Elizabethtown, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whales (First Discovery Books) (Hardcover)

My sister bought these books for her sons and she lent them to me for my children. She loves them so much that she wants them back for her grandchildren! This was a great book - the whole series is great. We have about 30 of these books and my children love to look at them. They particularly like how the plastic insert make the pages look different when you flip the plastic insert over.

This book gives basic information about whales - explains the differences between the two kinds of whales, what kind of food they eat, how they breathe, etc. It doesn't get into very detailed explanations but it's not necessary. It just gives you enough information to interest the reader in the subject. The pictures are great, not too scary. Excellent books for grade school kids, especially those learning to read.

I would recommend this book as well as the other books in this series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of whale fun, April 21, 2009

By 

Heather Martin (The Republic of Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whales (First Discovery Books) (Hardcover)

It sounds liked they came out with a new edition of this book. We read the older one so I can't comment on the newer one.

This book is a lot of fun with the transparent pages. The text is simple and fairly basic. These teach a little, but I mainly use them because the kids just love the pictures and will look through them over and over again. Whenever I see these books I buy them.