Review: What's That? Australian Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises


One is never too old, nor delightfully too young, to widen one's knowledge of the natural world. Especially when that natural world is a veritable ocean of wonders and mysteries and ... cetaceans! Following on in his exquisitely illustrated and concisely factual picture book series, What's That? Myke Mollard has triumphed with his latest volume focusing on our own hemisphere of whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Each category of these ancient ocean dwelling mammals is divided into clear sections and this is where realisation spawned into renewed understanding (for me!). That a toothed whale and porpoise are one in the same, that there are several species of dolphin whose appearance is similar but habitats and behaviours differ and that the roto-tail jump is a unique signature move for the Striped Dolphin. 

Introductory information about each species found in or around Australian waters and coastlines is revealed in compact paragraphs. Tantalising titbits are showcased in floating text bubbles which I appreciated for their pithy and catchy fun fact format. Most helpful of all, each finned funster's population reach is clearly depicted on a coloured world sphere. 

Information of this kind will no doubt support past sightings of eager young environmentalists or spur excitement on their next whale watching expedition. I myself have traversed many of the world's oceans and witnessed some of its passing, leaping, breaching wonders but was unable to put a name to them. The What's That? series puts paid to such ignorance and is a solid way for youngsters to discover and understand more about our wild world.

This is all supported by Mollard's splendid, fluid illustrations. He even manages to make the mighty Blue Whale feel majestic within the confines of a small shelf-sized reference book. Perhaps most significant for me are the catchy titles applied to the nomenclature. Alliteration is cleverly employed to create a memory-forming handle for each species: spiralling Spinner Dolphins, precious Pilot Whales, kingly Killer Whales and so on. All great material to keep in the classroom or bedside bookshelf.

For a handy, go-to discovery resource in groups that make sense, explore the What's That? series today; and this one preferably before the end of the next whale watching season.

Title: What's That? Australian Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises 
Author /Illustrator: Myke Mollard
Publication Date: Woodslane Press, $24.99
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781923350144
For ages: 5+
Type: Non-fiction Picture Book

Buy the Book: Woodslane Press, Boomerang Books



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Gone To The Woods

Image
Regrettably, Gary Paulsen was a bit of an unknown to me until discovering this transcending story about his childhood. A multi-award winning author of young adult fiction, Paulsen reveals how his ability to smith words developed as a consequence of his remarkable upbringing, or more accurately, lack thereof. Paulsen was, not literally an orphan, but he was a lost child. Gone to the Woods begins with one such journey adrift an ocean of salacious events thanks to his mother and her penchant for supplementing her hourly wage at local Chicago clubs. At just five years of age, Paulsen is dumped upon a train bound for a relatives’ farm in north Minnesota not far from the Canadian border. It proves to be his temporary salvation and a place he acquires the art of patience, a deep respect for nature and an appreciation of what genuine kindness tastes like. Edy’s motherly compassion and Sig’s reticent guidance nurture the abandoned boy until a sense of who he is begins to emerge. It’s bone...
Read more

I've got a dream

Image
Almost a decade of moons ago, I made a serendipitous discovery that forever altered the spin of my world. Falling pregnant after so many years of waiting and yearning was nothing short of miraculous (for me) and a life event definitely worth waxing lyrical about. But did I? Sadly, not as much I as wanted to. There are those who find it hard to exist without sharing the contents of their dinner plates with the rest of  the world, then there are others who worry that a beautifully executed birthday cake photo shared on social media will somehow demean the starving populations of the world. I oscillate between the two but tend towards the latter, always fretting over how others will take good news in light of their own current situations and struggles, thus resorting to a severe downplaying of my own good fortune. The pregnancy of my first child should have been a joyous occasion - it was a joyous pregnancy after all - but I was acutely conscious at the time of another family me...
Read more

Review: Detention

Image
Tristan Bancks signed my copy of Detention with a note hoping it kept me turning pages . This book lived up to that promise and then some. Packed with page-turning tension and relentless drama, this is one middle grade novel that may cause a few kids to miss their dinner call. Yet despite the raw gritty urgency that suffuses nearly every page and the elevated sense of dread and desperation that keeps your heart in top gear, the pace is never too manic nor too hectic to enjoy the energising mix of edgy excitement and sincere emotion Bancks does so well. Dan is an inner suburban boy living on the outer perimeters of life. He’s classified as trailer park trash because of his permanent residence at the social-economically deprived Midgenba caravan park. It’s a title that comes with an ineradicable smear of hopeless. Deep down though, Dan’s a good kid, a caring kid. The type of kid who’ll risk his own face to save a vicious dying dog, which he does one day after finding Rosco tied ...
Read more