Product Description
Orcas, also known as "killer whales", are large, beautiful black and white mammals, inhabiting the cold coastal waters of oceans around the world. "Killer" may be a bit of a misnomer, while these aquatic animals dine of wide variety of species, humans aren't one of them. Intelligent predators, they are frequently compared to wolves. Orcas hunt together in pods, as wolves do in packs, and they maintain complex social relationships. They communicate through an extensive repertoire of sounds. Celebrate these impressive and beautiful creatures with this Orcas wall calendar. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Beautiful calendar
This calendar is good sized with beautiful photography.It made a great gift and arrived quickly and in perfect condition. ... Read more

Product Description

In 1953, the brilliant but terrifying titan of cinema John Huston summons the young writer Ray Bradbury to Ireland. The apprehensive scribe's quest is to capture on paper the fiercest of all literary beasts -- Moby Dick -- in the form of a workable screenplay so the great director can begin filming.

Customer Reviews (9)

Not enough for a book
It happens that Ray Bradbury spent a few months in Ireland while he was writing the script for a Moby Dick movie and he decided to write a book about his experience in the land of St. Patrick. The problem is that nothing worth of a whole book happened there. Just an eternal rain, some anecdotes with locals and many critics to the Irish.

Not his best
Ray Bradbury was a science fiction icon, but there's a reason he didn't write "The Playboy of the Western World" or "Finnegan's Wake."The dialogue is all you get from this book.The rest of the book is a thin vehicle to get you from one conversation to the next.There are few descriptions and few insights.The dialogue itself is very humorous at parts, and in others it's obvious that this is Bradbury writing how the conversations should have gone, not how they really went.I've thoroughly enjoyed other works by Bradbury, but this wasn't one of them.

The best of both worlds, fact and fiction
Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay for John Huston's Moby Dick.It is a hysterical account of his exploits in Ireland where he wrote the piece.It is also a work of fiction because he combined some of his previous short story writings about Ireland into the book.Bradubury masterly weaves both fact and fiction into a enjoyable tour-de-force.If you are an avid Bradbury fan, you will remember some of his earlier work and recognize the stories.If not, then I envy you because you will not be able to distinguish fact from fiction.Bradbury does both a wonderfull job of catching Irelands essence and terrible poverty of which he covers lightly.He also hints at the terrible genious of John Huston without going into the gory details.This book is a very fast read and is wonderfull.It is certainly deserving of the national book award it recieved.

Not the best Bradbury, but still worth while.
This didn't grip the same way Fahrenheit 451 or The Martian Chronicles or Something Wicked This Way Comes did. There are many entertaining and quite often fun stories and of course it is beautifully written. Bradbury is one of the best prose stylists and short story writers in American Lit, after all. It's not one of his classics but it's worth a consideration.

Great prose.
Green Shadows, White Whale is a tale about Ray Bradbury's travels in Ireland while helping John Huston write the screenplay for Moby Dick. The writing is absolutely wonderful. I have read many books in my life but Ihave rarely read one so beautifully written and well composed. There wereparagraphs and passages that I read over two and three times simply becausethey were so tasty. The story is broken up into chapters which compriselittle subplots of their own. This makes for easy reading because you canread a chapter or two at a time and still enjoy the entire book. Read thisbook. ... Read more

Product Description
Ella's mother ends up in a coma after giving birth to her new baby brother and Ella is forced to make her peace with her new stepdad. At school, she loses a best friend and copes with a bully, but her new friend Joseph shares her enthusiasm for whales and becomes an unexpected source of support. ... Read more

Product Description
Off the Pacific coast of Mexico, a whale is born. Swimming beside Mama Whale, and surrounded by a protective pod, Baby Whale begins to grow and learn. She dives in the deep dark through swirling galaxies of luminous fish. She encounters dangerous orcas and a giant squid. Soon Baby can leap and blow, and comes to know all the ways of the whales and the sea.

Continuing the nature series that includes The Eyes of Gray Wolf, Condor's Egg and Honeypaw and Lightfoot, Jonathan London's simple, poetic prose captures the tenderness and drama in the life of the endangered sperm whale. Jon Van Zyle's dynamic illustrations reveal the grace and magnificence of these mighty mammals. An informative afterword and a reader's guide are included. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wonderful
London can do it.He writes of something so large and strange as a whale and makes you want to have one as a pet.This book is touching and allows us to understand about the whale in a whole new way.

Avoid for sensitive children
I personally loved this book and story and thought my 4 year old could handle the plot. She loves whales and mama/baby animal stories so I was hopeful.

It was a complete disaster. She was so worried about the daddy whale disappearing and about the mama whale fighting, etc. She was sobbing uncontrollably, and then I was too. It was just awful.

This is a girl who has never cried about any book before, and we read a ton of them of a huge range of topics.

So, just a warning if you have a sensitive youngster!

The world of a baby whale
"Baby Whale's Journey" is a truly magical and beautiful book for young readers. Jonathan London's compassionate and easy-to-read text blends perfectly with the majestic illustrations by Jon Van Zyle. Together, they tell the story of a baby sperm whale's life with her marine community.

The book is full of memorable images: the adult whales protecting the baby from orcas, the mother whale battling a giant squid, and mother and baby simply frolicking in their ocean habitat. Van Zyle's illustrations (most of which stretch across two-page spreads) are superb; Van Zyle is especially adept at capturing the marvelous play of light in the water. "Baby Whale's Journey" is educational, artistically impressive, and emotionally satisfying.

Wondeful Story about A Mother and Baby Whale
This is a great book for children to help them learn about Sperm Whales and provides children with an insight into life below the ocean waves.I would recomend this book to teachers who are looking for a book about Ocean Animals to share with their class. This would also be a good book for a mother to read to her daughter since it talks about the mother/daughter relationship of the whales in this book.

Wondeful Story about A Mother and Baby Whale
This is a great book for children to help them learn about Sperm Whales and provides children with an insight into life below the ocean waves.I would recomend this book to teachers who are looking for a book about Ocean Animals to share with their class. This would also be a good book for a mother to read to her daughter since it talks about the mother/daughter relationship of the whales in this book. ... Read more

Product Description
New Look! Relaunched with new jackets and 8 pages of new text!

Here is a spectacular and informative guide to whales, dolphins, seals, and manatees.Superb color photographs of dolphins, killer whales, walruses, and more offer a unique "eyewitness" view of these mysterious sea creatures - what they look like, how they behave, and their battle for survival.See the whiskers of a walrus, inside the mouth of a killer whale, dolphins at play, male elephant seals fighting, the way a blowhole works, a carved sperm whale's tooth, and a 19th-century blubber pot.Learn how deep a sperm whale can dive, how whales use bubbles to catch fish, why sea lions bark like dogs, what baleen is used for, and why killer whales come up on the beach.Discover how humpback whales communicate, why whales leap, the world's biggest baby, why the future of whales, seals, and dolphins is threatened, why whales migrate thousands of miles, and much, much more! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Loved It!
I got this book for my children.They love the book and have learned a lot a fascinating information about whales. ... Read more

Product Description
Over the course of their 70-year lifespan, sperm whales will easily travel the circumference of the Earth in search of food and the need to breed and find a mate. Males will travel as far north as the Bering Sea and as far south as Antarctica in order to find enough food to sustain their ways of live—up to 700 squid a day! Along the way, these massive beasts battle 30-feet-long giant squids, and each other, to sustain their ways of life. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (2)

A great book -- beautiful, informative, and fun
Whale Port is a treat for anyone, young or old, interested in whaling and the role it played in American history. Through the fictional village of Tuckanucket, Mark and Gerald Foster take you on a wonderful, illustrated tour of the growing pains, and the triumphs and tragedies of a whaling town as it tries to maneuver through the powerful tides and currents of history, while remaining literally and figuratively afloat. The drawings are excellent, the story is dramatic and compelling, and the added background information at the bottom of each page makes the book that much richer. My eight year old son loves the book, and so do I. I highly recommend Whale Port to anyone who is fascinated by America's whaling heritage -- it is particularly appropriate for 8 to 14 year olds.

A great resource for adults, too!
The son-father team of Mark and Gerald Foster have collaborated to produce an eye-pleasing book that not only offers a creative approach toward explaining the history of New England whaling over time, but is a crash course in all the terminology and processes related to the whaling industry, maritime trades that developed because of it, and other aspects of Colonial life.
I recommend this book for children AND adults who want to use it to prepare for, or supplement, a visit to any whaling point of interest, such as the New Bedford Whaling museum in Massachusetts, Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut, a whale watch, or any other whale-related tourist spot worldwide.
This book also provides a starting point for those who want to learn to appreciate whales, understand how human action profoundly affects their survival on this planet, and gain historical knowledge from which to decide how to act today to protect these important and endangered mammals.
The exquisitely detailed, labeled illustrations by Gerald Foster are educational in and of themselves, but together with Mark's comprehensive historical instruction, this book becomes a gem. Well done! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Whales are magnificant
I had the pleasure of going to San Ignacio Lagoon with Summertree Institute. It is a wonderful organization and San Ignacio Lagoon was unforgettable. This book will remind me of how wonderful the Lagoon and whales are and that it would be a tragedy to not protect them. I recommend the book and the trip!

Fascinating Read
This book really shines a light on a world so few of us see. Doug Thompson has written one of the definitive books on whales, their history and their future. His personal connection to whales and the way he introduces us to the people and places that are so crucial to their survival takes you on a journey filled with the passion of someone who deeply cares for these amazingsea creatures. The DVD that is included adds a visual element that brings the pages of the book to life. It's also great to hear the author narrate the DVD and get a greater sense of his commitment to these smart engaging animals. Whales: Touching the Mystery is an enjoyable read and one that you'll recommend to all your friends.

Whales: Touching the Mystery
What a wonderful book!I send a huge and heart-felt thank you to the author, Doug Thompson, for being such an excellent spokesperson for the friendly Grey Whales of our ocean...for writing such an important book...and at a time when their very existence is beginning to be threatened again.

Each year we watch, from our coastal town in Oregon, as these magnificent creatures make their yearly journey to and from Baja.It is a journey that we look forward to each year as they make their way down the coastline and back again.
I have had the opportunity of looking into the eyes of some of these whales and I must say, I have been changed. And now, even more so, after reading this excellent book.

It is my hope that everyone will have the chance to read this book and to learn from it. It truly needs to be in the hands of every conservationist.
'Touching the Mystery' is a thoughtful and beautiful book that not only educates folks about the wonder of these intelligent creatures and the importance of protecting them, but also about the lives of those that live near them...the keepers of the lagoons and stewards of the land and sea.

This book comes with a 30 minute DVD offering incredible footage of these Whales. Doug's many years as a film maker certainly are apparent in this documentary.It is absolutely stunning!

I am about to order several more copies (after having already purchased an armload)
Thank you again Mr. Thompson!!! You are a hero!

Whales:Touching the Mystery
Whales: Touching the Mystery entrances the reader.Complete with a DVD showing incredible footage of humans interacting with whales and whales enjoying thier ocean journeys.The book explores Gray Whales teaching us the beauty of their life and the impact of their journeys from Alaska to Baja Mexico on humans and the viabilty of ocean life. This book is for whale lovers, nature adventurous and the curious.The author tells the story of the current effords of humans to preserve the birthing lagoons of the whales, as well as the impact on the indigious folks of the area. Historical information combined with current conservation by the Mexican goverment creates an intrique of circumstances and give hopes to the future.Reading this book will have you heading towards Baja to sea for yourself and to experience the joy of our whale ancestors.READ it and Buy it for a friend or your local library.

A pitch perfect book and DVD -- powerful and moving
I can't claim to be deeply familiar with the current literature about whales (my library boasts at most two or three books on the subject) but if you're looking for the one book that conveys the majesty and wonder of these incredible creatures, one that engages both the mind and the heart in ways both powerful and moving, this book and accompanying DVD is it. Mariner, naturalist and filmmaker Thompson has been leading whale watching expeditions to Baja California for 30 years--he may have been the first one to do so-- and he does an admirable job of distilling the knowledge, wisdom and deep insights gained from three decades of whale interaction into a narrative that is at once accessible, informative and fascinating.

While much has been reported about the profound, even life-changing, impact that touching a whale has on those who have had the experience, Thompson deftly steers clear of being preachy or New Age-y, leaving the spiritual experience for the reader to feel implicitly through his descriptions and the DVD. In fact, he has multiple objectives: enthrall, entice, educate, honor the stewards of the San Ignacio Lagoon, lobby, give the rich ideas for helping (and politicians reasons for voting), and gain new friends of the whale world-wide. He achieves all of these goals without losing any of his audiences.His brief history of whale hunting is especially powerful.

My wife Susan and I watched the 30 minute companionDVD. Like the book, it's pitch perfect and wonderfully complementary. We've both been fortunate to get close to whales in waters off Northern California, but Thompson's images of whale encounters in the San Ignacio Lagoon are nothing short of astonishing,truly powerful and moving. This is a beautifully produced video, with a quality worthy of network broadcast. Little wonder that Thompson and this book and DVDhave garnered the respect and imprimatur of no less an icon than primatologist Jane Goodall. Like Goodall, Thompson is making an impact. Highest recommendation.
John Grissim, author of The Lost Treasure of the Concepcion and Pure Stoke ... Read more

Product Description
Adelina is a ten-year-old girl who lives in a quiet fishing village in Baja California, Mexico.Adelina has some very special friends-the gray whales-that come every year to spend the winter months and give birth to their calves in the protected lagoon near her home.

This beautifully photographed photo-essay introduces young readers to a very special way of life, offering insights into the world of these giant mammals of the sea.

Text and photographs by Richard Sobol. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

I love this book!
I have actually been to the San Ignacio Lagoon where the whales come and where Adelina lives. This book is a very nice story and a nice introduction to gray whales and their lives, also the life of a young girl in rural Mexico. The photos are beautiful and it's well written from the viewpoint of the little girl. I bought this book in the town of San Ignacio after going whale-watching myself near where Adelina lives. Any kid interested in whales or biology or the ocean or Mexico would enjoy it I think.

Whales...up-close and personal
Some beautiful photographs of whales grace this book that introduces readers to Adelina, a girl from Laguna San Ignacio, a small village in Baja California.Readers see a glimpse of her life, hear her grandfather's story about his first encounter with a gray whale, and learn of the whale watching tours that her family conducts for tourists.The whales often come right up to the small boats, affording the people and whale a close-up view of each other.The gray whales winter there and raise their young before heading back to cooler waters in the spring.This book, told as a story, contains ecological, sociological, and zoological information.There is a forward by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Karen Woodworth-Roman ... Read more

Product Description
Eleven-year-old Isabel is a “plain old” girl living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, who believes that she is destined to accomplish something special. When her fifth-grade class goes on a whale-watch field trip, something amazing happens: Dozens of different species of whales surround the boat, bumping the deck and sending Isabel flying into the ocean. Isabel is shocked to hear the whales speaking to her—she is a mermaid, they tell her, a “Chosen One” who has the ability to turn from a human into a whale and back again. She is destined to live among the whales long enough to learn their ways, and teach them about the human world.

Living among her pod is fun, at first, but Isabel has an important mission. She will change the whales’ future forever, and learn a lot about herself in the process.


From the Hardcover edition. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Isabel the whale
Isabel of the Whales is definetly one of the best books I have ever read. It is about a girl who turns into a whale, and when she does this, she basically travel to and fro as the seasons come and go with her new found whale family. The travels are told from a what seems kindove like a whale's point of view, instead of a humans. (Even though it basically is both!) An exciting twist on a modern story, and a definite page turner, I highly recommend this book to anyone!

A beautiful and pure fantasy for all ages...
I only recently discovered this book, and, I have to say I almost could not put it down! Not only is the fantasy part lovely in its imagery, but, the technical facts about the sea creatures are informative and amazing. Any author would be proud to call this tome her own, and, Ms. Velmans should be congratulated. I only hope that one day this is made into a movie of the Disney/Pixar type. It would be an instant classic, not like those forgettable straight-to-dvds they seem to be churning out the past ten years.

best whale book !!!
I think this book is excellent !!! This book made me stay up late to keep on reading it until my mom told me to turn out the light.I think it is the best whale book I've ever read. Isabel of the whales makes me think I'm actually with her learning to ping and ring and sing. I would definitely recommend this book. I think itwould be very hard to have two families like Isabel.

I loved it!
This book was amazing.I read it with my seven year old daughter.We both couldn't wait to read some more the next night.My daughter learned a ton about whales and the writing was fabulous.Wonderful, imaginative, creative book.I hope she writes some more.

This book is truly amazing!
This book is just wonderful. Packed with romance, adventure and tragedy, you won't want to put this book down. The story gets more exciting with every sentence you read. A surprise is packed inside every page. This is honestly one of the best books I've ever read. You should DEFINETLY get your copy today! ... Read more

Product Description
Relates the adventures of a humpback whale calf that gets tangled in a fishing net and is later freed by a team of helpful whale watchers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Interesting!
the book Ibis is a must read. it is fun to read and it is interesting. Ibis is fun to read you should read it.

Touching and sweet, without being too cheesy.
My four year old son checked this out from our local library, and he and his seven year old sister loved it.As their mom, I did, too!The drama of a real-life whale rescue at the waters' surface contrasts with the peaceful world of whales below.The comparison of the starfish with a human's hand was touching and makes one wonder how whales really think.A very sweet book, one that makes you realize how we put animals at risk by our behavior all the time, yet our hearts are not all that hardened... yet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Remarkble
Rose crafts a remarkable web around one of the last decade's most bizarre media events. The stranding of three Alaska Grey Whales enabled the rarely connected worlds of increasingly visually dependent media, environmentalists, Inuits and two superpowers in a vortex of international attention. Perhaps it was the low expectations, but I found this short, crisp book, impossible to put down. You will too.

Terrible.
I lived in Barrow in 1988 and was on hand for the rescue effort, from beginning to end. Tom Rose had a great story before him but chose to ignore it and instead created a poor work of fiction. He used real peoples names but beyond that pretty much make everything up. The nicest thing that canbe said about this book is that Tom Rose took the concept of "literarylicense" and multiplied it to 1000th degree. ... Read more

Product Description
Personal, anecdotal, and highly engaging, Watching Giants opens a window on a world that seems quite like our own, yet is so different that understanding it pushes the very limits of our senses. Elin Kelsey's colorful first-person account, drawing from her rich, often humorous, everyday experiences as a mother, a woman, and a scientist, takes us to the incredibly productive waters of the Gulf of California and beyond, to oceans around the world. Kelsey brings us along as she talks to leading cetacean researchers and marine ecologists about their intriguing discoveries. We encounter humpback whales that build nets from bubbles, gain a disturbing maternal perspective on the dolphin-tuna issue, uncover intimate details about whale sex, and contemplate the meaning of the complex social networks that exist in the seas. What emerges alongside these fascinating snapshots of whale culture is a dizzying sense of the tremendous speed with which we are changing the oceans' ecosystems--through overfishing, noise pollution, even real estate development. Watching Giants introduces a world of immense interconnectivity and beauty--one that is now facing imminent peril. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Acutely disappointing.
Perhaps I misunderstood what this book was going to be about. I may not have read the reviews carefully enough. What I *thought* was that this book would be about the secret life of whales.

Sure, I learned something of the secret life of whales, but this was gleaned only after flipping through all the mind-numbing information on the author's children, Kip and Esme, how the honey-tongued local waiter tended to make women's thoughts leap instantly to sex, and what a trial it is to get a room in an inn when you don't speak much Spanish and they don't accept plastic. And so on and so forth.

I am not sure if Kelsey was trying to pad out the book, or adopt a girly coffee-time chat style (she called whale faeces whale 'poop', constantly, I could hardly bear it), or if she was trying to draw parallels between Kip and Esme's toileting habits and whales' 'poop'.

All I wanted was the whales. And I wanted an adult discussion of whales. Largely, I didn't get it. (Kelsey didn't have to talk down to me. Among many other examples, she didn't have to keep calling whale faeces whale 'poop'.)

Discussion of whales was largely confined to the Gulf of California, which was also acutely disappointing. Whales elsewhere are referred to, but why not include them in the overall discussion? I just felt that the author's wealth of knowledge was confined to one thing ... whales in the Gulf of California.

Kelsey also had a heavy conservation agenda. Many chapters/essays given over to her conservation agenda. This is fine, but I just wanted whales.

In summary, *not* a book on the secret life of whales, and possibly not even aimed at adults. Some whale life is discussed, but that only highlights its intense lack throughout most of the book.

I think the book should be re-titled, and I think the book's description should more adequately explain what this book is about. I also disliked the author's girly chatty style.

This was just not what I thought it was going to be. Acutely disappointing. If whales are what you want, be aware that much of this book is not about whales. I would not recommend it.

A wonderful book, but not a lot that's new
This is less a 'book' and more a compilation of wonderful and well-told stories about whales and dolphins, each one a sort of essay examining a different species or topic. Kelsey writes beautifully and the book is compulsively readable, and very enjoyable at that. What I also thought was great (despite being a male in my 20's with no children) is that she knits the various stories together with the theme of motherhood, a little-examined side of cetaceans. She dwells at length on lactation strategies, mothers bonding together to protect and 'educate' their young, and the arduous "single mother" lifestyle required of many species. It is a heartwarming and, so far as I know, unique perspective for a book on cetaceans. Many of the 'episodes' involve visits to researchers in the field and are told more as anecdotes (with lots of scientific research in the endnotes to back up claims) as opposed to a dry, factual account.

I take one star off only because if you've been into cetaceans for any length of time there won't be a whole lot that's new here, other than the inventive perspective (whales-as-mothers) itself. You won't be surprised to read about humpback bubble-netting on acoustical tracking for the 18th time. On the other hand there are some shocking factoids within that I really had never thought of before, such as that the number one killer of dolphins today is our abysmally destructive fishing methods - the number of dolphins killed annually as 'by-catch' numbers in the millions!

All in all an endearing and enjoyable read. Well done.

Fascinating book - a must read for any ocean enthusiast
Elin Kelsey has taken a different approach to studying whales, and a different approach in writing this book.She seems to be a scientist utterly fascinated by the culture & psychology of whales - why else would she compare whale behavior to her own menopause or interactions with humans?

Having said that, I found that I could hardly put the book down - I only reluctantly laid it down at night when my eyes refused to stay open.I have long been fascinated by whales, but everything I've ever read before was superficial stuff - the fact that a blue whale weighs 100 tons, or that Gray whales like humans.It has been a long time since I was touched by a book the way I was touched by this one.As a child growing up in San Diego, I wanted to be a marine biologist.Many moves later, and finding myself living in the desert, I didn't pursue the dream - instead I focused on what seemed a more practical choice.

This book, however, has reinvigorated my interest in marine biology.There's no telling where it will take me, just like there's no telling what scientists will discover next about these fantastic mammals that populate our planet's oceans.

If for nothing more than general curiosity about the chapter titled "Let's talk about sex, Baby", pick up this book & read it - if you have any interest at all in these enormous creatures, you'll be well rewarded by reading this book.

Families and what we don't know about whales
The book offers an interesting view of whales through the lens of motherhood and the unknown. We still know very little about these giant beasts. They spend most of the time underwater, beyond our realm of study and research.

For example, as the book points out, a blue whale opening its mouth to take in a school of krill is the biggest biomechanical event to happen on the planet. The scale of a whale's life is well beyond the scale of humans.

But they are parents and they have families. We are still trying to figure out how that works.

Understanding whales by looking at the roles of the mothers
This book is in many ways a collection of superb essays that read like dispatches from the frontiers of whale science, including current thoughts on whale intelligence, homosexuality in dolphins, the culture of whales, and how best to save whales. However, at the center of these probing investigations are the roles of mothers and their crucial importance to understanding the big picture. Filled with insights. Highly recommended.
-- Erich Hoyt, Senior Research Fellow, WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society; Director, Far East Russia Orca Project; Author, Creatures of the Deep, The Earth Dwellers and Marine Protected Areas for Whales, Dolphins & Porpoises ... Read more

Product Description

Exceptional nonfiction for children from two of the most trusted names in science education: Seymour Simon and the Smithsonian Institution.

Customer Reviews (2)

Very Good Information About Whales
I really like this book because it has a whole lot of information.I like to collect information animal books.That's why I chose this book.Also, I want to become a scientist that studies animals because I'm always studying animals.That's why I like this book.I don't think without knowing what animals do, eat, and how you can take good care of one if they are sick.

My 4thgraders enjoyed the various facts on whales
Great ideas cool facts we read this orallly in class the facts are easy to remember and summarize

you have super pictures ... Read more

Product Description
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises have fascinated humankind for centuries. Amazingly diverse, they have evolved specializations that allow them, despite being air-breathing mammals, to exploit habitats ranging from surface waters to ocean depths. Whales and Dolphins of the World is a celebration of the variety (more than 80 species), behavior, and natural history of these remarkable animals. Stunningly illustrated by 180 color photographs, it describes what we know of their lives, including feeding, reproduction, communication, and social structures, and surveys the factors that affect them, from hunting to pollution. The book explores the strong relationship between our species and theirs, with a look at dolphin therapy and the pros and cons of whale-watching. It details the forces that threaten whales, dolphins, and porpoises, including hunting, whaling, fisheries, pollution, and habitat destruction, and also describes the conservation actions that must take place in the twenty-first century to save them. A color map of the world highlights the waters in which whales and dolphins are found.

Worldwide interest in these unique creatures is growing, as evidenced by the increasing number of people who go whale- and dolphin-watching each year. This book, with its informative, lively text and spectacular images, provides an illuminating look at the lives of whales and dolphins in a changing world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Whales and Dolphins
This book provides an excellent overview of cetaceans with a recurring focus on conservation. It is the best and most enjoyable book about cetaceans I have read. It also contains spectacular photos. ... Read more

Product Description
Describes the Northwest Indian totem pole which shows how Thunderbird punished Whale for chasing Salmon and scaring Frog. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Pigment of Imagination
This is a beautiful, well told book full of color woodcut illustrations inspired by Northwest Native American totem poles The pictures are wonderful: bursting with action and atmosphere.The story, based on a legend of the Northwest Indians (it would have been nice to name them), is about diverse animals working together to save salmon from a river-going whale!Thunderbird's talons take the whale up to a mountaintop and the two creatures strike a deal to make the river safer for Frog andabundant with fish for people.

In addition to the unique wood prints, Siberell's book is noteworthy for the last page's description of tools and natural color sources (e.g., cedar, animal blood, berries, clamshells) used to make totem poles.29 pages, suitable for reading to toddlers up through first grade or so, as well as a good reading book for the somewhat older child (around second or third grade).

A well presented tale of how whale came to live in the sea.
Whale In The Sky, written and illustrated by Anne Siberell, is a clear and strong story about how whale came to live in the ocean and not in thestream. The text is concise and spare, which keep the story from beingbogged down. The relaxed style of the writing is also reflected in thegraphics. The illustrations are done with woodcuts. This style adds to thenative Pacific Northwest Coast rythym of the words. The colors contrast foreasy 'reading' of the pictures. A beginning reader can get the messageswithout being able to read the words. This is a great story to learn abouthow totem poles came into being. The book starts with a one paragraphhistory of the area and totem poles. The book ends with the story, Whale InThe Sky, depicted in a totem pole.Without giving it away, the story showscooperation toward a goal, as well as, respect for others and their needs.My chldren love to add words as we read or tell the parts themselves. Whenthis book is back in print, pick up a copy and add it to a young personslibrary near you. ... Read more

Product Description
Scientists and natives wrestle with our changing climate in the land where it has hit first
--and hardest

A traditional Eskimo whale-hunting party races to shore near Barrow, Alaska-their comrades trapped on a floe drifting out to sea-as ice that should be solid this time of year gives way. Elsewhere, a team of scientists transverses the tundra, sleeping in tents, surviving on frozen chocolate, and measuring the snow every ten kilometers in a quest to understand the effects of albedo, the snow's reflective ability to cool the earth beneath it.

Climate change isn't an abstraction in the far North. It is a reality that has already dramatically altered daily life, especially that of the native peoples who still live largely off the land and sea. Because nature shows her footprints so plainly here, the region is also a lure for scientists intent on comprehending the complexities of climate change. In this gripping account, Charles Wohlforth follows the two groups as they navigate a radically shifting landscape. The scientists attempt to decipher its smallest elements and to derive from them a set of abstract laws and models. The natives draw on uncannily accurate traditional knowledge, borne of long experience living close to the land. Even as they see the same things-a Native elder watches weather coming through too fast to predict; a climatologist notes an increased frequency of cyclonic systems-the two cultures struggle to reconcile their vastly different ways of comprehending the environment.

With grace, clarity, and a sense of adventure, Wohlforth--a lifelong Alaskan--illuminates both ways of seeing a world in flux, and in the process, helps us to navigate a way forward as climate change reaches us all.
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Customer Reviews (9)

A must read!
This is a great read! I couldn't put it down. And it's a must read for anyone who thoughtful people who care about climate change and multiculturalism.

As a fellow writer, as someone who has worked (many years ago) on climate change, and as someone who knows a tiny bit about Barrow and Iñupiaq culture, I was blown away by how skillfully Mr. Wohlforth has interwoven science with culture. He combines sensitive and well-researched portrayals ofnon-Native scientists with a warm appreciation for the culture and acumen of the Iñupiat (Eskimo) people.And he wraps all of these diverse issues within a warm mantle of wonderful prose.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Felicity Wright
www.felicitywright.com

A Most Balanced View
Charles Wohlforth's The Whale and the Supercomputer is a brilliant conversation between the indigenous Inupiat of Barrow, Alaska, and the Anglo world of science. It deals not only in ideas, observations and theory, but in the lives of the women and men who give rise to these ideas, observations and theories. The result is a deeply human book.

Wohlforth gives all sides of the conversation a hearing, showing the strengths and blindness of each. Many of us who claim to be environmentalists live too far away from the land to really know it, but our critique is also helpful to those who live too close.

Some of the most interesting stories in this book are the ones he does not tell. It seems that many people do science as a way of getting back to the land. It also seems that some of those who do the science are worried about what their experiments are showing and so they do them again and in different ways, just in case there might be a different outcome. The result is that Wohlforth thoroughly engages his reader.

The conversation between the Native Way and White Capitalism that is going on in Alaska today may be the most important conversation Americans will ever have. I am grateful to Charles Wohlforth for letting us listen in.

I am reading parts of this book aloud to my children
who are 11 and 13. They wanted me to read the whole chapter about the snow-sampling expedition. They are thrilled and disturbed by the whale hunts and the vivid descriptions of the ice, and they are more interested in the science than I expected -- but as another reviewer noted, the author is a parent, too, and while the science isn't oversimplified, it is set out in plain language.

My kids want to go to Alaska as soon as possible, "before it's all melted and gone forever" as my daughter says. And my son wanted to know -- "Mom, if I can figure out cold fusion, will you be proud of me?"

All the accolades by other reviewers here are well deserved. This is a wonderful read; the science is woven into the story so seamlessly that you don't realize just how much you're learning. But I think the most important message of this story is that the earth has an intrinsic value and beauty that we do not have the right to destroy.

So, get this book. Read it. Donate a copy to your local library. Maybe our children really can save the planet. This book could be the inspiration.

The Whale and the Supercomputer: On the Northern Front of Climate Change
I flew a Jet Ranger helicopter for ERA Helicopters in the spring of 1969, shortly after oil was definitely discovered at Prudhoe Bay.I was the farthest west contract at that time, living with and working for a seismic crew.As a result I had to learn a lot about surviving in the white-out, memorizing the shapes of all the tundra ponds, various willows and other Arctic shrubs, snowy owls and ptarmigan, and so forth.Reading this book brought me back to all those adventuresome skills and a time just before we were all so skeptical of our society and its outcome.Working in extreme outdoor jobs then was a lot like the life described in this book.Certain abilities to pick up on local lore of the Natives, as well as the most advanced technical thinking was expected of you, and comforting.I have enjoyed seeing anything about the Arctic's North Slope of Alaska ever since, and hope we can move forward into our complicated future without confiscating that amazing habitat up there.And good luck to the Arctic Ocean's inhabitants and their ecology; they are going to need it for what we have done to the atmosphere.This writer is a fine journalist for conveying what we have learned so far.

Global warming given a personal perspective
This book tells many stories centered on the theme of climate change as seen in Northern Alaska. The Iñupiat people have lived around what is today Barrow, Alaska for over a thousand years. As with many indigenous peoples, they have a keen awareness of their natural surroundings. For the Iñupiat, knowledge of weather, ice and whale behavior is a matter of life and death, both moment to moment in a climate so harsh the cold can kill quickly and in the larger life of their villages, where successful whale hunts are needed to feed the people.

Barrow has also been the site of scientific Arctic climate studies since the 1800s. A parallel culture of scientists has developed in the several research stations in the area. For many years, the Iñupiat and scientific communities have coexisted in varying states of tension. Both recognize strengths in the other but their ways of approaching life and understanding the world are very different and often not possible to reconcile. While the scientists have frequently consulted with and tried to learn from the Iñupiat, the scientists have typically found this a frustrating exercise and the Iñupiat have had enough bad experiences with researchers on short projects not really understanding the people or the place that they do not easily trust outsiders.

Charles Wohlforth has lived in Alaska and did a remarkable job of coaxing stories out of the Iñupiat. They are storytellers - telling stories has long been deeply ingrained in their culture and way of life. We hear some of their stories as well as those of the scientists. Perhaps most remarkably, we meet a scientist who returned to Alaska to adopt the Iñupiat way of life as a whaling captain instead of pursuing his scientific career and Iñupiat who have made their way as scientists even as they live next to the people they grew up with.

But most important, while we see the effects of global warming and climate change as seen by the scientists doing research and the Iñupiat whalers trying to cope with the impact of bad ice and warmer weather on all aspects of whaling, the author reminds us that these local effects are just a snapshot in one place of changes that will affect us all. Reading this book compels an appreciation for the depth and breadth of knowledge of an indigenous people surviving the changes in the modern world while preserving their native ways and traditions. ... Read more

Product Description

"Once in a while, a book comes along that redefines its subject to the extent that most previous works immediately become obsolete. Eye of the Whale is such a book...it will change the way you think about the natural world." -RICHARD ELLIS, LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Named a Best Book of the Year by three major newspapers upon its initial publication, and now available for the first time in paperback, Eye of the Whale offers an exhilarating blend of adventure and natural history as Dick Russell follows the migration of the gray whale from Mexico's Baja peninsula to the Arctic's Bering Strait.

Originally named "Devil-fish' by nineteenth-century whalers, the gray whale's friendly overtures toward humans over the past generation helped to spark the growth of today's whale-watching industry. This majestic marine mammal has also become a focus of controversy, as environmentalists fought to protect its breeding area from industrial development, some protested renewed hunting by a Native American tribe, and, more recently, scientific studies have noted a new decline in the whale's population.

Russell's narrative interweaves the remarkable story of Charles Melville Scammon, a nineteenth-century whaling captain responsible for bringing gray whales to the brink of extinction, whose change of heart led to his becoming a renowned naturalist. Retracing Scammon's path, the author encounters contemporary marine biologists who have devoted their lives to studying the gray whale, and native peoples for whom subsistence whale hunting means survival in the most remote regions of the North Pacific.

Called "an extraordinary book" by The Washington Post, Eye of the Whale is a stirring account of a creature that is changing our consciousness about the relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom.

The good news, as Russell writes, is that the Mexican salt plant was eventually stopped. The bad news is that the gray whale is still everywhere under siege. Though it does not displace recent books such as Serge Dedina's Saving the Gray Whale and Robert Sullivan's A Whale Hunt, Russell's is by far the most complete popular account of the gray whale across its wide range, and it makes useful reading for anyone seeking to learn more about this key marine species. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

A Wonderful Book
The critics are right to rave about "Eye of the Whale" by Dick Russell. In it's plainest form, the book entails a synopsis of the legendary gray whale and it's journeys through Oregon, Washington, the shores of Monterey, Vancouver Island, the Bearing Sea, the Bering Strait (Alaska), and Sakhalin Island, a hot topic in recent news. One of the best explanations of the book I can find is when someone describes encountering a gray whale. "Especially when you looked at its eyes, you just knew it probably thought it was a boatload of those [people] who like to pet them" In this passage we see a lot of what the book is about: People encountering the majestic grays and suddenly have a new opinion of them.
The book has many passage from Charles Melville Scammon, a nineteenth century whaler who brought gray whales to popularity, by nearly killing them all. He then turned naturalist, and studied the gray whale extensively, following them around the globe. Russell tells the story of retracing Scammon's steps and gaining a new perspective.

What is so strong about the book is the writing. When I opened it I didn't think I was going have a thrill a minute, and I didn't. But, I was surprised of it's intricately weaved passages, interesting readers, telling a simple story, and making a strong point without yelling it at you. In this way, Russell has helped the grays greatly by encouraging whale conservation, and showing the many sides of being an endangered species.

The books weaknesses were few and far between, in my opinion. I will say, sometimes the passages, though well worked out were a bit lengthy and could have been more concise. The largeness of the book is intimidating to some, but hopefully this review will help in the case that it isn't a hard read, and also it good to read in just sections, and good to have for reference.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in saving a great thing and encouraging conservation of nature in your friends, neighbors, children, and yourself. It's not worded at a hard reading level, and offers great views into the world of the deep.

gray whales!
Expecting another boring science book on whales, I was surprised at the way Dick Russell made the whales seem what they should be: interesting.Russell covers almost all aspects of the gray whales in his book Eye of the Whale. As he follows the migratory path of the whales along the coast, the reader gets a good sense of the science, history, and issues surrounding gray whales.He writes about the story of Charles Scammon, the legendary whaler whose research on gray whales is still used by scientists today.He writes about conservation issues and the politics behind the plan to build a saltworks in the protected lagoons. He writes about the individuals involved in gray whale research along the coast.What I really liked about this book though was that instead of just telling the reader about these things, he shows them.He makes the book read more like a story than just a research paper about conservation by using personal accounts and treating the people in his book not just as researchers but as characters.I didn't like when he would go into long, and confusing background explanations that were hard not to skip over.Other than that though it was a well written and up to date account of the interaction between humans and the gray whales.I would reccomend this book to anyone interested in whales at all.You don't need to be a scientist to understand it and it is interesting and informational at the same time.

"That immense...intense and impeccable eye"
Staring into THE EYE OF THE WHALE certainly seems to be a mystical experience. Unfortunately on the whale watching trips I've been on you get no closer to the whales than the deck of the ship. Not close up and personal (sometimes even rubbing and patting the "friendly whales")as is the case in Baja, California, with watching the Gray whales from small Zodiac boats. Perhaps you are like me then and (unlike the author) know nothing about the metaphysical powers of whales and their ability to bring about meditative and contemplative states in mankind while imparting transcendental wisdom. This book is therefore equal parts a journey of self discovery by the author and a natural history and scientific discourse on the Pacific Gray whale. For my liking there are just a few too many experiences here such as this one by a marine biologist: "It was a calf and I could see its eye looking into my eyes...I knew we were talking..." Mr Spock mind-melds with Gracie the Humpback a la STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME.

Although the author and others see "whales smile by my fingertips" and get all "misty eyed" and believe that the whales are "trying to save us from our human side" these sentimental and lyrical asides are simply a matter of writing style. Overall theydo not spoil the book. There is sufficient science and history here to satisfy those looking for something other than a "save the whales / save the world" soft-sell.The defeat of Mitsubishi's proposed salt-works at one of the whale breedinglagoons and the story of Charles Melville Scammon are themes that run throughout the book. Mitsubishi represents the modern day commercial threat to the whales while Scammon was an old-time whale-butchering sea captain. Scammons' conversion from hunter to benefactor (he ended up writing the definitive book on gray whales) is a tale well told. Perhaps, like the author, he too looked into the EYE OF THE WHALE.

"Nature and books belong to the eyes that see them" (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

An excellent chronicle and tribute to the Gray Whale
Dick Russell has produced an amazing chronicle of the life of the California Gray whale. This is a book that is not only important today but will hold a place of value and respect hundreds of years into the future. Sadly this book may most likely survive the species itself.
I have spent over two decades studying and working to protect the Gray whale and I've lead four major conservation expeditons to protect the species. The first was in 1981 to Siberia, the 2nd and 3rd to Neah Bay in 98 and 99 to oppose the Makah whale hunt and the 4th to San Ignacio in 2000 to oppose the development of an industrial salt processing scheme that would have damaged the breeding and calving homes of the Grays.
Dick Russell got all the facts right in the areas that I have intimate involvement with so I can safely assume that his facts in all other areas are equally investigated and thus correct.
This is a wonderful story and it is a great work of historical documentation both natural,social and cultural.
My life was changed by looking into the eye of a whale in 1975. I believe that Dick also caught a glimpse of the mystery, the majesty, the magic and the marvel of the mind of the whale reflected from the eye of one of these great and gentle giants.
For only a person who has seen into the eye of a whale could have written such an insightful book.
I intend to buy a dozen of Dick Russell's books for Christmas presents this year.

Not Just Whales, But Humans
_Eye of the Whale: Epic Passage from Baja to Siberia_ (Simon and
Schuster) by Dick Russell is a brilliant and comprehensive account not
so much about the gray whale, but about how the humans and whales have
interacted over the centuries, and especially in the past few
decades. It is hard to imagine that there is any aspect of this
subject that Russell has not covered. The truly amazing part of the
gray whale�s story is that it had a terrible reputation in the
whaler�s day. It was called a devilfish, and was viewed as a
dangerous quarry, especially when it was protecting its young. It had
to be approached with fear (and this was realized in the Japanese
fisheries as well). It is a devilfish no longer. No one knows why, but
sometime in the 1970s the behavior of the whales changed. Into the
lagoons of Baja, the whales go in the winter to mate and to deliver
calves. The whales started becoming interested in the humans that had
put out in their boats to see them. They presented themselves at the
surface, turning on their sides to point an eye up to look at the
humans that used to kill them for oil and meat, and for baleen to
stiffen their corsets. They seemed to enjoy being scratched and
touched. Individual whales, returning year after year, seemed to
spread the behavior, which has become the norm. They even nudge the
calves toward the boats to introduce the new arrivals into the
activity.

All the eastern Pacific gray whales come to Baja in an
annual migration from the Siberian-Alaskan waters where they feed. It
is a 13,000 mile round trip, the longest annual migration of any
mammal, and Russell has traveled the length of that migration, and
more, to interview almost everyone who has researched the gray whale
or campaigned on its behalf. The result is a multifaceted,
wide-ranging tale that takes in important stories about the
interaction of humans and grays. The Makah tribe in Washington resumed
whaling with a controversial kill in 1999, possibly of a whale that
thought they were friendly. They get support from the Japanese, who
want to bring whaling back in general. The area of lagoons where the
whales calve was in danger of becoming a giant salt production
facility; Russell covers the anguish and triumphs of the
environmentalists pitted against huge commercial and governmental
foes. The grays have made a comeback, but seem to be less healthy; we
don�t know if we can blame warming of the waters or other causes, as
research on the whales is only in the beginning stages.

Best of all,
though, is that the book is full of attempts to describe just what
happens between two species as they regard each other. "Once you get
a chance to see these whales," says one observer, I think it is a
natural reaction to fall in love with them. And to want to do the
utmost so this continues to be a place where they can come and feel
safe and secure." Another: "The mother was just lying there as if
she was watching the young one, and sometimes she came up and rocked
the front of the boat. I must say it was sometimes a little bit
frightening. But then when she came and looked at us, you were not
scared at all, just happy. I can't explain it." A crusty marine
scientist reaches out to touch a whale for the first time, and
although no one has ever seen him do it before, he starts weeping. It
is an overwhelming experience that no one who has had it ever
forgets. The whales seem to have many mysteries to tell us. They can
be thankful that their ambassador, Dick Russell, and his imposing,
full, and readable book, are bringing to us their story.





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Customer Reviews (1)

Enough insights to allow whale watchers to fully appreciate and anticipate their experience.
THE COMPLETE WHALE-WATCHING HANDBOOK: A GUIDE TO WHALES, DOLPHINS, AND PORPOISES OF THE WORLD blends a focus on the biology of whales and their behaviors with a species guide, a regional guide to whale-watching opportunities around the world, and seasonal analysis of species which can be expected. Much more than just a listing of parks and outfitters, it focuses on the biology and science of the species and provides maps, color photos, and enough insights to allow whale watchers to fully appreciate and anticipate their experience.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (22)

this book is AWESOME
this is one of the best books i've ever read. it starts just normally, with Lily going to her dad's office for career day. then she finds out that his boss is a whale-human hybrid trying to take over the world! but with the help of her friends, Katy and Jasper, she foils his evil plan before his walking laser-beam eyed army takes over the WHOLE WORLD!!!!!!

Stupid on Stilts
I really wanted to dislike this book.

As a big fan of the old juvenile series books Mr. Anderson is making fun of here, I've found most attempts at satirizing them pretty lame, despite the fact that I fully recognize they have been ripe for satire since at least the turn of the century...

from the 19th to the 20th Centuries that is.

In addition IMHO Mr. Anderson is only about half as funny as he thinks he is.Having Jasper Dash, Boy Technonaut, come up with a way to secretly record all photocopies made in the villain's lair onto one convenient, 220 pound wax roll instead of a modern recording medium is kind of funny.

Having Jasper select for the getaway car something with a top speed of 35 mph instead of faster vehicles he already owns because they're not rocket-powered, is not.

And the only word appropriate for describing most of the too frequent authorial asides is tedious.However, I have to admit that Mr. Anderson's story slowly grew on me, kind of like a toenail fungus that won't go away no matter what you do, that makes your toenails so yellow and unsightly that you are ashamed to be seen barefoot until you finally clear it up by taking Natren Healthy Trinity Probiotics 90 Capsules Dairy Free.

Hey, if he can get away with it....

What I cannot deny, though, is that the book got better and better as it careened along.I started out giving it 3 stars, gradually raised it to 4, and then VERY grudgingly raised it 5 as he actually pulled off a pretty spectacular ending.

Unfortunately, since this is the first book in a series: M. T. Anderson's Thrilling Tales, I guess that means I shall now be forced to read The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen and Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware.

I can hardly wait!

An Ode to the Random
Random hilarity abounds, and for once the title doesn't say it all - in fact, it only scratches the surface.

Yes, we do indeed have whales on stilts here. We also have laser beams, rocket cars, secret labs in abandoned warehouses, robots, phonographs, eight-page footnotes, grannies with ribbon candy, a plot to overthrow the world, adventurous girls and boys, uncooperative hairstyles, and a short quiz at the end.

And that's not even giving much away.

In other words, for a book you can read in a little over an hour, it's good, weird fun! Dig in and enjoy!

Insanely Clever and Witty
Fun for adults, too!

Whales On Stilts has become one of my all-time favorite books.I found it with a young relative's school books and was drawn in by the retro-styled cover illustration.I flipped through the pages and read a few random sentences and I was laughing out loud.

This book is hilarious.

M.T. Anderson delivers a smartly funny narrative disguised as an innocent children's adventure novel.It's not a story that HAD to be written and it's not a sophisticated work of literature that will win any medals.But that's not the point.The key is in how the story is presented.

The book is very much a spoof of the children's adventure genre.And the pages are full of creative ways of incorporating jokes in a book (including fake advertisements, humorous footnotes, a digressing narrator, a less-than-educational set of study questions, and--my favorite--the use of fonts for sight gags!).

What's great about Whales On Stilts is that it really thinks "outside the box".It knows what kind of book it is and it makes fun of itself.It knows how preposterous the story is and it celebrates that.

(For a taste, just look over the back cover.If this style of humor is not for you, then you might not enjoy the book as much.)

The book is aimed at a young audience (and kids should be able to appreciate its unique style), but the humor does not lose its effect on adults.Some of the jokes may even be funnier to adults (who'd be more apt to get the cultural references).But this is still a great book for kids.(Especially if they can sense sarcasm in print.)Buy it for your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or grandchild, then ask to borrow it when they're done.(It's pretty quick reading, especially for grown-ups.)

The story itself revolves around Lily, a normal girl whose two best friends are the adventurous stars of their own respective book series.Lily's father works for a mad scientist who turns out to be more than meets the eye (unless you get a good look the first time) and the plot has to do with Lily and her friends stopping the mad scientist's scheme to have whales destroy the city.

Kids will follow the adventure.Grown-ups will appreciate its ingenuity and humor.

I don't take life too seriously.To me, this is how books SHOULD be written.

Audio book, a Must Hear!
Whales on Stilts! audio book was an absolutely hilarious story narrated extremely well by Marc Cashman.My family has listened to the story at least 4 times and each of us (Ages 36+, 10 and 8) loved every minute of it.The story is interrupted several times by hilarious, sarcastic, side plots read in the style of fast "legal small print" found in radio commercials.M.T. Anderson masterfully entertains both adults and children.I highly recommend the audiobook.I am buying more from the Author / Narrator combo. ... Read more