Dolphin Baby!: Read and Wonder

by Nicola Davies, Brita Granström (Illustrator)

Overview

"A wonderful immersion into the baby dolphin’s world." — Booklist

Pop! Tail first, head last, Dolphin is born into the blue. Readers are invited to join the baby calf as he follows his mother 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763670481
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	02/25/2014
Series:	Read and Wonder
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	800,180
Product dimensions:	9.13(w) x 9.88(h) x 0.17(d)
Lexile:	AD670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nicola Davies is a zoologist and the author of many books for young readers, including Surprising Sharks, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor winner, illustrated by James Croft; Big Blue Whale, illustrated by Nick Maland; and Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth, illustrated by Neal Layton. “I adore dolphins,” she says. “Just looking at them makes me happy. I've spent many days watching them — often when I should have been doing something else!” Nicola Davies lives in Wales.

Brita Granström has illustrated many children’s books, including Eyes, Nose, Fingers, and Toes: A First Book All About You and Does a Cow Say Boo?, both written by Judy Hindley. “I hadn’t seen a wild dolphin until I started Dolphin Baby!” she says. “Then, as if by magic, a pod of fifteen dolphins and their babies arrived near my home, so close to shore that I could draw them from my studio window. I immediately fell in love.” Brita Granström lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

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 Times

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... 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

From the Publisher

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

School Library Journal

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)

Kirkus Reviews