The Blue Whale by Jenni Desmond
Publisher: May 26, 2015 by Enchanted Lion Books
Ages: Recommended for 4-8 years of age
Lexile Score: AD1060L
Summary
In this nonfiction book the readers meet a young boy snuggly in bed to read his favorite story about the blue whale. In his story he follows along as the narrator explains facts about these water mammals.
Review
I have to say that I loved the structure of this book. While it didn't read as a
narrative nonfiction (with a plot, conflict, or characters) it was set up as such. We, the readers, are introduced to this little boy who is all ready to curl up with his favorite book and it is as if we are reading the book right along with him.
The book flowed so rhythmically that it almost felt like we were moving at a leisure pace just like the blue wale does in the ocean. There were some hard concept words in the book that I don't believe younger readers will grasp unless it it effectively explained by the adult present. I must say, the measurement concepts in the books were explained so developmentally appropriate it made my teacher heart happy. While the narrator used basic measurements like feet, inches, and pounds they often used a visual non-standard measurement tool to help with understanding.
In the above pictures shown, the non-standard measurement tools used to explain how much a whale's mouth can hold is shown through the amount of people. How long a whale is, is shown by different large vehicles. This way readers have more of a visual sense on the amounts given in the book.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and think it would go really well in a library setting.
Readalikes
National Geographic Kids: Pre-Reader Leveled Books: Whales
Whales by Seymour Simon
The Ocean by Miranda Krestovnikoff
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