Swim with a baby dolphin as he learns to survive — and play — in an engaging story splashed with facts and buoyed by bright illustrations.
Pop! Tail first, head last, Dolphin is born into the blue. He’s brand new, but helped by his mother, he swims up, up, up to take his first breath. Readers are invited to join the baby calf as he follows his mom and discovers all there is to know about life under the sea, from catching his first fish to learning how to say his name with his very own whistle. Nicola Davies’s lyrical narrative and intriguing facts are accompanied by Brita Granström’s colorful illustrations, pulsing with the energy and movement of dolphins in their natural habitat.
Back matter includes a note about dolphins and an index.
From the Publisher
Young children will love learning how little Dolphin suckles, whistles in baby talk, catches his first fish and rubs his tummy against Mom as sweetly animated paintings highlight each step.
—The New York TimesZoologist Davies has long experience writing about nature for young readers. Here, she describes the first six months of a bottlenose calf’s life through the story of Dolphin and Mom... Granström’s acrylic paintings are beautiful. Spreading across two pages, they emphasize the blues of the dolphin’s environment... This introduction to dolphins is sure to win readers’ hearts.
—Kirkus Reviews
Davies’s lively story of a dolphin baby and his caring mother is infused with scientific details about dolphin developmental milestones in the first six months of life... Granström’s illustrations set at various depths in the ocean feature broad brush strokes of every watery hue—light blues and greens for surface antics and inky, midnight blues for the depths that the growing dolphin eventually reaches.
—The Horn Book
A dolphin baby’s first months involve pleasant times of being fed, learning the special whistles of dolphin communication, playing with other young calves, and eventually catching his first fish. Davies shapes these experiences as a simple story, demonstrating the social nature of dolphin life.
—School Library Journal
Nicola Davies’ nonfiction narrative is enhanced with beautiful acrylic paintings. Alongside the narrative text, a smaller font presents additional facts about dolphins.
—Library Media Connection (highly recommended)
A wonderful immersion into the baby dolphin’s world.
—Booklist Online
This book could be the starting point for a lifelong love of dolphins.
—BookPage
Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
The birth of a dolphin baby begins the story of its development from calf to adult. His mother helps him rise to the surface to breathe. He needs to learn how to nurse for milk, and to communicate with her with special whistles. As he grows, he makes friends and plays with other young calves. His mother must spend time diving and hunting for fish, clicking and using echoes, and he must learn to do as well. By the age of six months the dolphin catches his first fish and has a whistle of his own. Acrylic paints loosely demonstrate the growth and education of a dolphin amid the shapes and actions of the sea. The front and rear end pages illustrate the coast where the actions occur, with a pink-touched dawn and an orange sunset. Underwater scenes follow the pair, adding objects and other creatures typically found there. The brief lines of text are supplemented by several lines of expanded information in different, smaller type on the bottom of pages. There is an added note on caring for dolphins and an index. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
School Library Journal
Gr 1–3—A dolphin baby's first months involve pleasant times of being fed, learning the special whistles of dolphin communication, playing with other young calves, and eventually catching his first fish. Davies shapes these experiences as a simple story, demonstrating the social nature of dolphin life. The text is superimposed on the double-page acrylic views of the youngster, his mother, and various dolphin groupings in their blue, watery world. Small bits of subtext on most pages add bits of factual explanation. The story encompasses just a few months of the calf's early life in which no dramatic or dangerous events occur. It concludes with a bit of explanation of the variety of dolphin species and the need for humans to take better care of the seas to ensure a good future them.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Kirkus Reviews
Born tail first, a baby dolphin swims immediately to the surface to breathe, then follows his mother, nursing, learning her call, gradually exploring his world, playing, learning and developing his own personal whistle. Zoologist Davies has long experience writing about nature for young readers. Here, she describes the first six months of a bottlenose calf's life through the story of Dolphin and Mom. A sentence or two of narrative description appears on each page, with additional facts in a smaller, italic text. She chooses appropriate information--appearance, breathing, diving, feeding and communication--and constructs her story to demonstrate the calf's increasing independence. Her facts are accurate, and readers looking for specifics will appreciate the index and page numbers. An afterword identifies the particular species and reminds readers that caring for oceans will help ensure dolphin survival. Granström's acrylic paintings are beautiful. Spreading across two pages, they emphasize the blues of the dolphin's environment. The pink of their rostrums is occasionally and gloriously echoed in the sky. Although the author mentions that the calves lose their "folds and creases" in a few weeks, the illustrator hasn't shown a newborn calf's characteristic stripes, but she has certainly captured its appeal. This introduction to dolphins is sure to win readers' hearts. (Informational picture book. 3-8)
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