LITTLE WHALE

by Ann McGovern ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1979

Little Whale (a humpback) drinks milk from her mother, practices taking care of herself, flips out of the water when feeling playful, encounters a scuba diver and later a whaling ship, migrates to colder waters with her pod (""How do whales find their way. . . ? No one knows for sure. But year after year whales return to the same place""), and--a sudden year later--finds a mate of her own. McGovern switches back and forth, not at all smoothly, between Little Whale's representative experiences and man's uncertain knowledge of humpback life. (""Father whale sings a low song underwater. . . . The sea is full of the songs of humpback whales. . . . Some scientists say that only male whales sing."" Later, ""Father whale sings a song underwater. His song may mean, 'Time to go.' ""). The personalizing device is so indifferently used here that it would probably have been better to drop it altogether--unless you consider Little Whale's feminine gender some sort of plus. As it stands, with an appended anti-whaling note, this will serve where coverage of the humpback whale is a desideratum in itself.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Four Winds

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1979

Categories: NONFICTION