‘The title epitomizes Esbensen’s creative presentation of an important concept: how whales differ from the fish they seem to resemble and share characteristics with other mammals.… An excellent addition to the Let’s-Read-and-Find-Outseries.’—K. ‘Introduces a full range of information about whale anatomy, development, and behavior.… Esbensen’s simple, informative text keeps its young audience clearly in view.’—BL.

PreSchool-K-This series entry discusses the ways whales differ from fish, resemble humans, and the features that make them unique creatures of the sea. Using a picture-book format with rather clunky paintings, the simple text introduces children to the common aspects of all warm-blooded mammals. Esbensen focuses on the humpback whale and compares it to cats, dogs, horses, pigs, and humans to establish their commonalities. The humpback life cycle is described and illustrated, a cut-away drawing of a museum display shows a glimpse of blubber and internal organs, and a world map shows where these mammals live in winter and summer. A few other species are mentioned, and contacts for whale-watching tours are listed. Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.