Horn Book Review
A newborn whale migrates with its mother from the coast of California to the Arctic waters, encountering excitement and dangers along the way. Without ever anthropomorphizing her protagonists, French crafts an engrossing, tension-filled tale. The illustrations give texture and dimension to the whales, although the accompanying black-ink spot art is a bit distracting. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 5^-8. Beginning with the January birth of Little Gray in the waters off Baja California, this picture book traces the 6000-mile journey to the Arctic that the gray whales make in the spring. Threatened along the way by a boat and an attack by orcas, Little Gray, his mother, Old Gray, and their friend Three Scars travel up the coast and through the Bering Straits into the Chukchi Sea, their summer home. Starting with the little whale's birth is an effective device for the storyteller because of its inherent drama as well as the introduction of a character who is learning whale ways along with the listening children. French's text keeps the story moving, offering information and action to capture children's attention without sentimentalizing or humanizing the whales. Flather's illustrations include small black linocut prints as well as larger painted linocut pictures of the whales in their element. A nice addition to whale units in the classroom. --Carolyn Phelan
