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Brunelle, Lynn

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

48 pp. | Holiday/Porter | June, 2024 | Trade ISBN 9780823452286 $18.99 | Ebook ISBN 9780823459254 $11.99
(1) K-3 Illustrated by Jason Chin. As a ninety-year-old blue whale dies, one story ends and another begins. Her body provides food for other creatures before it gradually descends to the depths of the ocean floor. But it doesn't stop there: her body will sustain life of one kind or another for the next few hundred years. Small marine animals, from fish to crabs to octopuses, pick the skeleton bare before another wave of animals moves in. Eventually, rich nutrients seep into the water, and that water is carried to the surface, where it nourishes krill, the major food source for blue whales. Brunelle's engaging voice strikes the right balance between narration and exposition, while the book design adroitly places her text judiciously across double-page spreads and into sidebar columns. Chin's (The Universe in You, rev. 1/23) always-exquisite watercolors thus dominate the layouts in a variety of double-page spreads, spot illustrations, and thumbnails -- even as supplemental maps, models, and cross-sections effortlessly convey complex visual information. Back matter includes more information about blue whales, marine ecosystems, and the four distinct phases of a whale fall. Recommended resources and a select bibliography are appended as well. Dedicated enthusiasts may also want to seek out Stewart and Dunlavey's Whale Fall (rev. 1/23).
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

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