Book Description

What do employees and coworkers have in common with a five-ton killer whale? A whole lot more than you think, according to the mega-bestselling author Ken Blanchard and his coauthors from SeaWorld. Whales respond best to positive reinforcement. So do humans. In this moving and inspirational new audiobook, Blanchard explains how using the techniques of animal trainers -- specifically those responsible for the killer whales of SeaWorld -- can supercharge your effectiveness at work and at home.

When gruff business manager and family man Wes Kingsley visited SeaWorld, he marveled at the ability of the trainers to lead huge killer whales in performing acrobatic leaps and dives. Later, talking to the chief trainer, he learned their techniques of building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting negative behavior -- all of which make these extraordinary performances possible. Kingsley took a hard look at his own often accusatory management style and recognized how some of his shortcomings as a manager, spouse, and father actually diminish trust and damage relationships. He began to see the difference between "GOTcha" (catching people doing things wrong) and "Whale Done!" (catching people doing things right).

In Whale Done!, Ken Blanchard shows how positive reinforcement and redirection can help increase productivity. These techniques are remarkably easy to master and can be applied equally well at home, allowing listeners to become better parents and more committed spouses and have happier personal lives.Download Description
"What do your people at work and your spouse and kids at home have in common with a five-ton killer whale? Probably a whole lot more than you think, according to top business consultant and mega-bestselling author Ken Blanchard and his coauthors from SeaWorld. In this moving and inspirational new book, Blanchard explains that both whales and people perform better when you accentuate the positive. He shows how using the techniques of animal trainers -- specifically those responsible for the killer whales of SeaWorld -- can supercharge your effectiveness at work and at home. When gruff business manager and family man Wes Kingsley visited SeaWorld, he marveled at the ability of the trainers to get these huge killer whales, among the most feared predators in the ocean, to perform amazing acrobatic leaps and dives. Later, talking to the chief trainer, he learned their techniques of building trust, accentuating the positive, and redirecting negative behavior -- all of which make these extraordinary performances possible. Kingsley took a hard look at his own often accusatory management style and recognized how some of his shortcomings as a manager, spouse, and father actually diminish trust and damage relationships. He began to see the difference between ""GOTcha"" (catching people doing things wrong) and ""Whale Done!"" (catching people doing things right). In Whale Done!, Ken Blanchard shows how to make accentuating the positive and redirecting the negative the best tools to increase productivity, instead of creating situations that demoralize people. These techniques are remarkably easy to master and can be applied equally well at home, allowing readers to become better parents and more committed spouses in their happier and more successful personal lives. " ... Read more

Customer Reviews (59)

A Great Book for Business and Personal Relationships
An excellent book on the power of positive reinforcement and the importance of focussing on what is being done right rather than wrong.Ken Blanchard has once again created a powerful story to help illustrate key points and make reading this book fun and memorable.

So intriguing are the principles presented in this book that I actually travelled to Sea World San Diego and spent a day working hands-on with their trainers to learn it first-hand (great program - TFD - Trainer for the Day also highly recommended).

The book is a nice quick read and you may find yourself reading it several times it is so compelling.It is good addition to one's personal library as I have referred back to it a number of times as I have had to deal with difficult co-workers, working with challenging children, etc.

Enjoy this book and apply its simple principles in your life!

Five Stars for Chapter 2
Easy read, but got all I needed from chapter two.(I did read the whole book.)All these books are overpriced, soif your interested go to your library and check it out. If your short on time, just read chapter 2.

However with that said, the information is solid and helpful.

Great Book!
This book was so good that I bought it as a gift for a client as well as the principal of my childrens' school.Worth reading multiple times.

Quality content spoiled by poor presentation
Let's break the book down into two halves: the message and the writing. The message is great, and genuinely insightful, particularly in some of the subtleties of how one builds a positive relationship (rewarding progress, rather than just acheivement) and smart ways to do rewards.

The writing, though, is a different story. Like so many management books often do, it tries to reveal this information as a parable, by telling you the story of foul-mannered Wes Kingsley finding his guru at SeaWorld. The writing is unabashedly corny, and tiring, particularly with its relentless use of GOTcha (sic) and WHALE DONE (sic). I have found that I can relate the entire useful content of the book in a 5-10 minute conversation, and so, that makes the actual size of the book seem unnecessary. The upside is that print is large, and the writing is breezy, and the book reads very quickly. Think of it as the Cheerios of books: bland but easily digested.

Having read much stronger books that use this sort of presentation (Goldratt's "The Goal" comes to mind) I would not readily recommend this book, except that the concepts contained within are original, and useful. I think that there are other concepts from animal training that could have been integrated to improve the book, but as it stands, it is a tolerable and useful read. An abridged version with less of the overwrought story would be a very strong work.

Whale Done
Have you actually wondered how they get those huge whales to jump out of the water at Sea World or Marine Land?This book can be used to train animals, family, workers in how to use positive praise to get what you want.It's not a gimmick, but giving praise to encourage better performance and not just when a good performance is seen but a way of life, a value system. A great book!! ... Read more

Book Description
This is the tale of a tiny snail and a great big whale. The snail may be small, but she has huge dreams of seeing the world. So she hitches a ride on a friendly whale's back to see amazing sights. Icebergs and volcanoes, storms and sharks—the two friends see it all together. And when the whale runs into trouble, the snail proves that even the tiniest creature can help a friend in a very big way. The creators of The Gruffalo and Room on the Broom have teamed up again to bring you this whale of a tale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (23)

Cute and Funny and Happy
My youngest grandson loved this book. Very well written with exciting parts for young children and a good story line. 5 star rating well deserved.

Lovely story!
We have several books by Julia Donaldson. Mostly they have been translated into Hebrew as we live in Israel and my kids are bilingual. But The Snail and the Whale is one of the few we have in English....and I'm so happy that we do! I love this story. I've read it to my kids so many times, I think I could recite it verbatim from start to finish - yet we never tire of it. Ms Donaldson has such a magical way with words that truly engages the kids and yet there's always a message in her books without ever sounding even remotely preachy. And true to form, the tiny snail in this story teaches us a great big lesson about bravery, self-worth and friendship.

One of the best children's books.
My children and I love this book. All Julia Donaldson's stuff is great.
This book and "Room on the broom" are not to miss. Great rhymes, beautiful pictures, kind-hearted story, "The whale and the snale" has it all.

Probably my favorite children's book- ever!
I grew up with Dr. Seuss, Where the Wild Things Are, the Mr. Men, and Goodnight Moon.But when I picked up this gem at a gift shop in Pitlochry, Scotland, last summer, I immediately fell in love with the stunning drawings and moving story, told in impeccable rhyme and meter. I love that it shows children that there is a world beyond their own, where strange and wonderful creatures live.My son will be two next month, and this has been one of his favorite books for several months now.He'll ask for it several times a day, and, unlike all of his other books, I never tire of reading it to him.

I hope Donaldsons other books are as good, because my son will be receiving several of them for his birthday!

gorgeous, whimsical, lyrical and fun
Utterly and completely enjoyable. I have been a big fan of Julia Donaldson since finding Room on the Broom. This one doesn't disappoint. It is the story of a Snail who decides that it wants to see the world, and the whale which picks it up - and where they travel too.

Beautiful meter in the lines, as with all Donaldson's books, but in this there is definitely something whimsical in the words - it is so beautifully written, but with great good humour.

The illustrations are amazing (as with all Shaeffers (sp??) work. I liked the little touches to the pictures, the boat next to the Snail in the first picture is the Spirit of Glasgow, which is Donaldson's hometown. Very fun and nice book which my children really enjoy too. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (32)

Can't
give a review on something I havn't read, whoever made an idea like that, I give a review after I've read the book.

brilliant, beautiful, powerful folk tale of girl power
I love this movie, so I decided to read the book. As with any book on which a brilliant and well-executed film is based, it's a challenge for the reader to fall in love with the original story. The film was very faithful, and so it wasn't difficult to love this novel as well. But there are some deficiencies. First of all, the characters seem more real and dimensional in the film than the book. This is especially true of the heroine, who seems a mystical and distant child in the book, but comes off more real through Keisha Castle-Hughes' portrayal. Second, the film is much more realistic, only slightly testing the boundaries of reality and disbelief. The book is much more fantastic, though it contains more insight into the tribe's culture. And yet, the book is utterly powerful, honestly moving, and incredibly beautiful. It's a brilliant modern folk tale of a Maori tribe threatened by the modern world to hold onto its traditions. The chief (Koro) rejects his great-granddaughter Kahu who has broken the male line of succession. Koro tries desperately to maintain his tribe, reinforce the old traditions, and keep their connection with their totem animal, the whale on which their ancestor traveled to their lands. Meanwhile, Kahu desperately seeks her great-grandfather's love, not to mention acceptance. It slowly becomes obvious that Kahu--despite her gender and great-grandfather's rejection--is deeply connected to the whales and the sea (which is actually a taboo for a female to engage in), and is the salvation of her tribe. Obviously, fate and destiny care not for gender and traditions, as this girl is apparently destined for great things. It's an incredible story of family, destiny, strength, girl power, expectations, traditions, and culture. Grade: A

Has its problems, but still works.
Witi Ihimaera, Whale Rider (Harcourt, 1987)

This relatively obscure little book exploded after being adapted into an award-winning film. The book still hasn't gotten as popular as the movie, though, and that's something of a crime against nature. I have not yet seen the movie-- I wanted to read the book first (and will likely see the movie next week)-- but I know how the whole book-to-movie thing usually goes. And it's usually a crime against nature when the book doesn't get popular even after the movie's a big hit, so I'm playing the odds on that one.

As for the book itself, it's quite a good little tale, full of a young adult kind of magic realism that's likely to make the reader, if he hasn't already, consider the link between magic realism, the literary cliché du jour, and folktales. Ihimaera gives us the Whale Rider creation myth while telling us the story of a Maori chieftain who refuses to see that his granddaughter Kuha is developing into the new chieftain before his eyes because of his traditional beliefs that a male must take the position. (Despite, we find out, the fact that women have held the position in the past. Hard-headed old sod, eh?) We spend much of our time just learning about the characters, with Ihimaera throwing in some interesting perspectives at times; for example, narrator Rawiri, Kuha's uncle, leaves New Zealand for two years to run a coffee plantation in Papua New Guinea (and this allows for some rather odd humor, as well as a blistering excoriation of modern racism in the region), and we find out about Kuha's development only through letters and phone calls for a while. Yet it is rare that Ihimaera takes his focus off Kuha for more than a paragraph or two at a time.

A lovely tale, well worth your time, whether you've seen the movie or not. *** ½

The film is certainly better
Like most people, I bought the book after watching the film... in fact it took me ages to find the book because here in Spain it was called "the legend of the whales". Anyway, I thought the film was very moving and since when I'm obsessed with a movie I buy also the book, I did.

The first thing that surprised me was that the girl is not called Pai, but Kahu, and second, that it was told from the uncle's perspective rather than the girl. I though it wouldn't be good because on the film the uncle is a rather minor character... and in fact, it isn't.

I found the story dull and had to make myself keep reading. The only good thing I can say is that at least it explained a lot of the myth of Paikea, which in the movie wasn't explained that much. Other than that, there wasn't anything to keep me hokked to the book.

Niki Caro is a great scriptwriter because she made a fantastic film from this rather forgettable book.

Excellent coming of age story
This is an excellent coming of age story for a young girl, or boy! Readers will find delightful lore and learn something of New Zealand. The movie wasn't a disappointment, though I'm glad I read the book first.
Chrissy K. McVay
author of 'Souls of the North Wind' ... Read more

Book Description

Sometimes finding your own voice

is a matter of listening to the heart....

Jodi Picoult's powerful novel portrays an emotionally charged marriage that changes course in one explosive moment....For years, Jane Jones has lived in the shadow of her husband, renowned San Diego oceanographer Oliver Jones. But during an escalating argument, Jane turns on him with an alarming volatility. In anger and fear, Jane leaves with their teenage daughter, Rebecca, for a cross-country odyssey charted by letters from her brother Joley, guiding them to his Massachusetts apple farm, where surprising self-discoveries await. Now Oliver, an expert at tracking humpback whales across vast oceans, will search for his wife across a continent -- and find a new way to see the world, his family, and himself: through her eyes.Download Description
Sometimes finding your own voice is a matter of listening to the heart....Jodi Picoult's powerful novel portrays an emotionally charged marriage that changes course in one explosive moment....For years, Jane Jones has lived in the shadow of her husband, renowned San Diego oceanographer Oliver Jones. But during an escalating argument, Jane turns on him with an alarming volatility. In anger and fear, Jane leaves with their teenage daughter, Rebecca, for a cross-country odyssey charted by letters from her brother Joley, guiding them to his Massachusetts apple farm, where surprising self-discoveries await. Now Oliver, an expert at tracking humpback whales across vast oceans, will search for his wife across a continent -- and find a new way to see the world, his family, and himself: through her eyes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (34)

Needs real concentration...
I enjoyed the book but needed to go back and reread some parts to find out what the character was referring to...

book club
Good book (so far) - I have yet to finish it (and I ordered it a LONG time ago for a book club). I like the concept of the book; being told by 5 different people. THe different fonts for everyone helped distinguished who was who. I have read other Jodi Pucoult books and I enjoy her

Not so much...
I had heard that Jodi Picoult is one of the best fiction authors out right now, so I decided to pick up one of her books.Not knowing that it was her first novel, I grabbed Songs of the Humpback Whales.I thought the story sounded interesting and the idea of the five perspectives was interesting to me...well, I couldn't even finish this book.I usually become very involved in the stories I'm reading and often read late into the night and this book did NOTHING for me...it was work to get through a few chapters at a time.As I said before, I thought the idea of the following the different characters from chapter to chapter would be interesting...and it wasn't.It made the book very choppy and hard to follow...especially considering that the girl's story was written from the end to the beginning. Because of the lack of flow, I found myself completely disconnected from all the characters and I really didn't care about what happened to any of them...which is why I didn't finish the book.

I simply didn't care
Like many have noted already, this book lacked character development.I struggled to get through each chapter and found that I didn't like most of the main characters.Even now if I try to imagine what each person looks like, I can't come up with a picture in my mind.When I read stories about people, that is critical.

Even though Jane suffered abuse at the hands of her father (and I agree with the reviewer that the sexual abuse component didn't seem integral to the story) and even though she was a woman in search of...something, I found I didn't like her.She was not a sympathetic character.And her brother, Joley, was strange.I think he was in love with his own sister (he said, at the end, that she is his anchor).He wrote letters that no brother I know would ever dream of writing.In that regard, I found the prose, while elegant, unconvincing.

Jodi Picoult often explores issues of morality in her writings which I really appreciate.But this story left me bothered on several fronts.First, Jane is selfish.She justifies an extra-marital affair (and yes, Oliver was guilty of that too) saying "Sam was who I was supposed to connect with."Please.He is 25.She is 35.If she had connected earlier with him (say 10 years prior) we would have the situation of Rebecca and Hadley in reverse.

Speaking of, I was very troubled by their relationship.Again, Picoult describes their short-lived relationship with beautiful prose and flowery language, but one can't avoid the fact that a 15 year old girl has no business being with a 25 year old man.What happened between them on that mountain was a man taking advantage of a young, naive, emotionally immature girl.It was rape.Not only was she young, she was seriously ill with pneumonia.

I have enjoyed many of Picoult books, but this book was not one of them.

Very disappointing
I rarely write reviews for books, but I felt compelled to write a review for this book, as it was so disappointing. I have only read one other book by Jodi (The Pact) which I thoroughly enjoyed. However, the same cannot be said for this book, in fact I felt cheated for even reading the book. I felt the style of the book, in that five characters told the story, contributed to a lack of depth in the characters. Consequently, I cared little for any of the characters and ended up skipping any chapter written by Oliver. Rebecca was the most interesting character and I actually felt some emotion during her story. The other characters and story lines were wooden and I was not at all engaged by the main characters pilgramage or emotional awakening. In summary, a very disappointing story, lacking depth and emotion and the style of the "five voices" provided a disjointed read. ... Read more

Book Description
Using the ancient Inuit whale hunt as a metaphor, Whale Hunting provides a clear nine-phase model for successfully finding, landing and harvesting whale-size accounts—the kinds of accounts that transform your business.  The methodology of whale hunting turns the dangerous endeavor of selling large companies and big contracts into a strategy for success. You will learn explicit, repeatable; processes for

• Scouting –how to target your best prospects, research them, and get their attention
• Hunting –how to engage a cross-functional team of subject-matter experts throughout the process of selling and closing the deal
• Harvesting – how to deliver superior service to your new large account and set the stage for future business

Tom Searcy and Dr. Barbara Weaver Smith IN are founders of The Whale Hunters®, a sales and business process development company dedicated to strategies for rapid business growth.  Building on Searcy’s experience in leading four companies through accelerated growth in sales and revenue and Smith’s background in managing the culture of growth, they help their clients grow fast by engaging their entire company in selling and delivering big deals with large companies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Whale Hunting is a Must Read!
Many times when small business leaders buy a book looking for support and specific process strategies in becoming great, they find only general, nonspecific advice and insights.Whale Hunting is a welcome relief in that it provides both a clear structure that outlines specific process steps with tools to support action, but also insight into possible pitfalls and the world of the big company that must be managed along the way.If a small company wants to change how it does business, this book not only presents clear language and processes that are necessary inside one's own company, but also the significant expectations of the big company that must be met in becoming truly competitive. This is a must read for any small business that has reached a glass ceiling and wishes to push into new market space to achieve accelerated growth and the culture change necessary to sustain such long-range growth.

Whale Hunting--A true process for landing large clients
First the cons...
I don't like the title, Whale Hunting. The book has this title because the authors translate the hunting methods of the Inuit people of northwest Alaska into methods and systems for gaining large client sales. What do whale hunting and business growth have in common? A precise and successful methodology, as it turns out. However, as a surfer and general admirer of dolphins and whales, I find all the whale hunting analogies to be overwhelming for my easily disturbed psyche. That said, no whales die in the book.

The Pros...
Well written, clear, concise, exceptional methods, strong actionable advice. This book really walks you through the process of selling to large clients, and there is more to it, than you might initially think.

The Review...
In Whale Hunting: How To Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company,authors Tom Searcy and Barbara Weaver Smith explain the nine phases that the Inuit people of northwest Alaska use to scout, hunt, and harvest their whales. The authors translate the Inuit methodology into processes and apply them to the business practice of landing large clients.

The book offers specific, actionable steps when it comes to making big sales. And it shows how to engage a cross-functional team of subject-matter experts throughout the process of selling and closing the deal. Once a company learns the process, it is easily repeatable from client to client. These are the basic steps:

* Pre-Scouting - Analyze your capabilities, and the field of available clients
* Scouting - How to target your best prospects, research them, and get their attention
* Planning - Plan your contacts, message and questions
* Hunting - Analyze the buyer's team and mitigate their fear
* Capture - Selectively discover information from and disclose a controlled message to your client.
* The Big Show--A step-by-step guide for meeting with the buyer's team
* Servicing - How to service the large client with capacity and velocity
* Understand the process - Refine your internal operations and systems so that they can handle more large accounts.

While these specific steps are presented clearly in easy-to-understand terms, implementing them requires an exceptional amount of work, time and the right people. But, the authors contend, the pay-off in landing a major account (one that is 10 to 20 times the size of an average account) is worth the effort.

This is the real deal
It's not easy for little companies to land deals with big companies.It requires an understanding of how and why the big companies buy.It requires that the small company develop processes that meet the psychological and relational needs of the big company as well as having a competitive product or service.This book explains in very clear language what a small company needs to do.As I said before, it's not a simple thing--to hunt whales, but if a small company wants to grow, I know of no better strategy, and I know of no better guide to the process. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Want to know what Aspergers Syndrome is like?
The best way to learn about Aspergers is from what AS people have for sharing!Jerry and Mary share their love story in a way unlike any romance novel you'll find to read.As soon as I began reading this book, I could not put it down until I finished it!It made me laugh, cry, think, and sigh.Never was I bored for even a moment!

What makes this story extra special is that even though Jerry and Mary Newport are both AS people, they provide AS perspectives from their own side.Mary is much more accepting of the unique traits AS gives her than Jerry is.Regardless of this difference between them, they both can understand, appreciate, and accept each another.This is more than what they get from most other people.

The book "Mozart and the Whale" is much better than the movie.The movie is entertaining but the book does a much better job of portraying what AS is like, along with it being more entertaining to read than the movie is to watch.

I was blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with both Jerry and Mary Newport in person after I read their book.They were exactly as I imagined them to be.That must mean their real personalities shine through in this story!

Motzart and the Whale

Very good book, well written, would recommend it to anyonewho someone with autism. AAA+++

Insightful and Frustrating
"Mozart and the Whale" is the story of two people with Asperger's.Despite their areas of competence and even brilliance (Jerry and mathematics), they fail to rise above entry-level jobs such as taxi-driver, librarian assistant, cashier, etc. due to being held back by lacking normal career drive and planning, unpredictable and uncontrollable rages, inability to form normal social relationships and emotional connections, not answering the phone at times, and self-focus, as well as inappropriate job behavior.

The authors take us through their early lives, meeting and marrying, splitting, and finally joining up again.The bad news is that both come close to suicide, and the good news is that they eventually find happiness together.

What is the solution?Jerry suggests understanding adults during one's early life are very helpful, but that marrying Asperger's people together is not a solution - eg. the male/female ratio is about 4:1.

My "frustration" with the book?That so much is lost due to a slightly different DNA, internal brain wiring and/or chemical balance.

Really wanted this book
After seeing the movie and meeting Jerry and Mary Newport really wanted and needed the book. Usually like books over the movies. So glad to have and I am reading it right now. Good to have it.

Their honesty is refreshing.
This book is an honest account of growing up autistic.The authors do not, as many authors on the spectrum do, attempt to force-fit their lives into some sort of mold.They describe their lives as they were, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

In doing so, they have made a book that's easier for me as an autistic person to identify with, than a lot of the books in which people fit themselves to a mold.I loved reading about Mary's increased trouble in school during adolescence, I had the same problem, and some of the same responses to it.While it was a confusing and horrible time in my life as far as my own experience of it goes, it might have been less confusing if I'd had a book like this at the time.If Mary Newport reads this, I want to thank her for writing about that.

I also like their unflinching looks at their flaws.The ability to look at oneself honestly without shying away from the bad parts is something I have admired, and wanted to emulate, for some time.

The most important thing that I got out of this book, more than the many complex details in the lives of the authors, was the honesty, the ability to tell it like it was to the best of the authors' ability.I am glad they wrote it, and glad to read it:It is a refreshing change from a lot of what's out there in the world of autism literature. ... Read more

Book Description
For the crew of the eco-pirate ship the Farley Mowat, any day saving a whale is a good day to die. In The Whale Warriors, veteran adventure writer Peter Heller takes us on a hair-raising journey with a vigilante crew on their mission to stop illegal Japanese whaling in the stormy, remote seas off the forbidding shores of Antarctica. The Farley is the flagship of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and captained by its founder, the radical environmental enforcer Paul Watson. The Japanese, who are hunting endangered whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, in violation of several international laws, know he means business: Watson has sunk eight whaling ships to the bottom of the sea.

For two months, Heller was aboard the vegan attack vessel as it stalked the Japanese whaling fleet through the howling gales and treacherous ice off the pristine Antarctic coast. The ship is all black, flies under a Jolly Roger, and is outfitted with a helicopter, fast assault Zodiacs, and a seven-foot blade attached to the bow, called the can opener.

As Watson and his crew see it, the plight of the whales is also about the larger crisis of the oceans and the eleventh hour of life as we know it on Earth. The exploitation of endangered whales is emblematic of a terrible overexploitation of the seas that is now entering its desperate denouement. The oceans may be easy to ignore because they are literally under the surface, but scientists believe that the world's oceans are on the verge of total ecosystem collapse. Our own survival is in the balance.

With Force 8 gales, monstrous seas, and a crew composed of professional gamblers, Earthfirst! forest activists, champion equestrians, and ex-military, the action never stops. In the ice-choked water a swimmer has minutes to live. The Japanese factory ship is ten times the tonnage of the Farley. The sailors on board both ships know that there will be no rescue in this desolate part of the ocean. Watson presses his enemy while Japan threatens to send down defense aircraft and warships, Australia appeals for calm, New Zealand dispatches military surveillance aircraft, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence issues a piracy warning, and international media begin to track the developing whale war.

For the Sea Shepherds there is no compromise. If the charismatic, intelligent Great Whales cannot be saved, there is no hope for the rest of the planet. Watson aims his ship like a slow torpedo and gives the order: "Tell the crew, collision in two minutes." In 35-foot seas, it is a deadly game of Antarctic chicken in which the stakes cannot be higher.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Best Read of my life...
There has never been a book that has spoken to me like this one.It takes you through so many emotions - pain, frustration, anticipation, laughter, hope.Even if you cannot completely agree with Captain Paul Watson's actions, you can appreciate his passion. You turn the pages eagerly, waiting for a climax and even when it comes it leaves you wanting more.And that is the point - this is a story that will never end as long as there is the unnecessary murder of the oceans most peaceful mammals and a man like Captain Paul Watson ready to protect them.

Page-turning adventure and high quality information
As author Peter Heller says on his web site, no writer of fiction could hope to invent the wild truth on display in this tale of adventure on the high seas. Heller joined Captain Paul Watson and his 44 crew members aboard the Farley Mowat to find and stop the Japanese whaling fleet in 2005.

Heller's balance of objectivity and subjectivity provides for a very engaging and exciting read. This book is perfect for reading aloud, which is how we have been approaching it. Heller's prose style creates a you-are-there feeling. Mingled with regular visits to the Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace web sites for real-time blog updates, the reader can really feel like they are on the journey. This is an ongoing battle between those who see whales as intelligent, sensitive, and aware; and those who see them only as a "resource" to be harvested to the fullest extent. It is being played out right now in the southern ocean, so this book has an immediacy and relevance beyond the story it tells of 2005.

It would be enough if this were a great adventure well told, but The Whale Warriors is more than that. It is a decent introduction to the current state of the ocean. The information is woven so neatly into the story thatthe blend of plot, commentary and factual information is nearly seamless.

Kudos to Peter Heller for taking on a controversial and emotional subject, and telling the story in a form accessible to everyone.

An Arresting Eco-Adventure
The Whale Warriors is an exciting page turner about the 2006 whaling campaign in Antartica.It is chock full of harrowing information about the state of our seas (scientists predict the entire ocean will collapse by 2048!) to amazing insight into marine mammals (dolphins will refer to themselves and the dolphin they are communicating with by name AND also refer to a third dolphin by name during a dolphin-conversation).

The book delves into the interesting and diverse cast of characters aboard the Farley Morat.Who would give up everything (family, a livelihood) to risk their lives at the edges of the earth for a whale?You'd be surprised.

This book is both exhilarating and heart-breaking.An adventure worth taking that will change, forever, the way you look at the ocean.

This One Will Hook You! (Pun Intended)
The book's cover convinced me to pick it up, but Peter Heller's writing and the Sea Shepherds' story kept my attention from that point onward.I'm usually not drawn to non-fiction unless I'm researching a subject, and generally never adventure "true life" material.This book, however, has changed that for me.

Heller combines just the right amount of prose with conversation, facts with perspective.He enters into the fray of the Sea Shepherds' world with enough hesitation to cajole the more timid into joining him and with enough enthusiasm and objectivity to keep the attention of those with fixed opinions (for or against) about the subject of whaling.It really isn't a one-sided show.During the course of the book, the author questions his own ideas about the Sea Shepherds' methods, Captain Watson's zeal, and the legality/morality of the two-month venture into the Antarctic seas.While obviously sympathetic toward the whales, he isn't overly sympathetic toward the protagonists who are there to protect the whales by (almost) any means necessary.There is just enough cynicism in his approach to allow you to decide the black and white for yourself.

The reader is swept along for the ride with Heller on this adventure and what a ride!It was very hard to put down the book and I read late into the night.Through Heller, I felt as though I were a mute crew member on the Farley Mowat during that expedition--present to observe the often humorous, occasionally mundane, sometimes terrifying, but always interesting activities and perspectives that the motley crew of the Farley Mowat experience and offer during that two-month period of time.I know it may sound trite, but I was truly inspired by their enthusiasm and resolve.

I know more about the whaling situation and what it really means to fight for their existence on this planet after reading The Whale Warriors than I have after years of getting Greenpeace updates or the occasional news report.It is tangible to me now, this fight for the whales--something that I have a visceral attachment to and not just a subjective ethical opinion about.I sincerely hope that the recent change in leadership in Australia (global warming's supposed to be the top issue now) helps to bring a backbone to the political stage there instead of just popular support for antiwhaling enforcement.After having mentioned Greenpeace, I should note some of the more interesting clashes weren't between the Sea Shepherds and the whalers, but with their fellow environmentalists.It is a subtle and charged situation, but it was eye-opening to see the exchanges between the Sea Shepherds and Greenpeace from the inside.

All of this said, I heartily recommend this book for a wonderful and fluid reading experience.You will definitely come away with an opinion on the subject and you undoubtedly will enjoy yourself during the adventure.

Whale Warriors Has Something for Everyone
Peter Heller dramatically brings to life the 2006 anti-whaling campaign in the Antarctic by the volunteers and crew of the Sea Shepard Ship, Farley Mowat. Heller is the kind of gifted writer that transports the reader into the scene. You'll feel the roll of the ship, the sting of the cold, dry snow, the icy chill of the spray and you will learn to appreciate why we should all care about what is happening in our oceans. This is an adventure book to be sure but there is a message here for all of us - we all must pay attention to what is happening to our earth. Whale Warriors is a must read and Peter Heller is an author to keep an eye on, he is destined for great things. ... Read more

Amazon.com
T. J. Jones is black, Japanese, and white; his given name is The Tao(honest!), and he's the son of a woman who abandoned him when she got heavilyinto crack and crank. As a child he was full of rage, but now as a senior inhigh school he's pretty much overcome all that. With the help of a goodtherapist and his decent, loving, ex-hippie adoptive parents, he's not onlyfairly even-keeled, he has turned out to be smart and funny.

Injustice, however, still fills him with fury. So when big-deal football starMike Barbour bullies brain-damaged Chris Coughlin for wearing his dead brother'sletter jacket, T.J. hatches a scheme for revenge. He assembles a swim team (in aschool with no pool) made up of the most outrageous outsiders and misfits he canfind and extracts a conditional promise of those sacred letter jackets from thecoach. After weeks of dedicated practice at the All Night Fitness pool, theseven mermen get good enough not to embarrass themselves in competition. Thereally important thing, though, turns out to be the long bus rides to meets, asafe place to share the hurts that have made them who they are. Meanwhile,T.J.'s father, who has taken in a battered little girl to ease his lifelongguilt over his role in the accidental death of a baby, tangles with anotherbully--her stepfather--and his growing murderous rage.

Chris Crutcher, therapist and author of seven prize-winning young adult books,here gives his many fans another wise and compassionate story full of theintensity of athletic competition and hair-raising incidents of child abuse.(Ages 12 and older) --Patty CampbellBook Description
There’s bad news and good news about the Cutter High School swim team. The bad news is that they don’t have a pool. The good news is that only one of them can swim anyway. A group of misfits brought together by T. J. Jones (the J is redundant), the Cutter All Night Mermen struggle to find their places in a school that has no place for them. T.J. is convinced that a varsity letter jacket–exclusive, revered, the symbol (as far as T.J. is concerned) of all that is screwed up at Cutter High–will also be an effective tool. He’s right. He’s also wrong. Still, it’s always the quest that counts. And the bus on which the Mermen travel to swim meets soon becomes the space where they gradually allow themselves to talk, to fit, to grow. Together they’ll fight for dignity in a world where tragedy and comedy dance side by side, where a moment’s inattention can bring lifelong heartache, and where true acceptance is the only prescription for what ails us. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (77)

Good story
I was quite impressed by this book. I really enjoyed it. I don't understand why it's one of those books that is "challenged" by people. Here's an idea: read the books your kids are reading and discuss with them if you feel there's something questionable.

Hilarious, moving & instructive
This book might win a Newberry Award if it were for younger kids and didn't use naughty language.That's the sort of thing I'd compare it to.
I've never written a review before, but this book, which I listened to in my car with my 12-year-old daughter, was wonderful.We both laughed out loud a number of times; it's extremely witty (and the audio narrator does an excellent job).It's heart-breaking at times (child abuse, loss).And it's very instructive for young people trying to make sense of the world, especially complex issues involving race, psychology, child abuse, and such.
It's arguably a bit much for a 12-year-old -- lots of questionable language (authentic, but "naughty"), and a few references to people having sex (nothing graphic, though).I'd prefer it for years 15 and up, but my daughter seemed to get a lot out of it, and the parts that worried me ... well, I hope they sort of went over her head.But I was delighted to have her hear about life from the perspective of a multi-racial kid, especially one who accepts himself but still has to put up with grief from morons in his high school.

Talking Whale?
Whale Talk

Do you have a big heart full of the kind of love that you would give a friend or even a complete stranger?That's how the Tao (pronounced The Dow) is in the book Whale Talk by Christopher Crutcher.The book takes place in Spokane, Washington.T.J Jones (The Tao) and his teacher, Mr. Simet, get together a swim team for Cutter High School.Mr. Simet has one reason for the swim team, and T.J. has another for the team, but it's the complete opposite of Mr. Simet. T.J. wants to help Chris Coughlin out of his bulling problem (Chris is handicapped).T.J.ends up going to the State championship and winning two events.But after the Championship, a tragedy strikes, one that will haunt T.J. until the day he dies.

My favorite part of the book is when Chris Coughlin gives T.J. some love back.Through out this book, T.J. shows Chris the love a friend would give a friend.This makes it special because T.J. loved Chris as a friend, that Chris gave him love, in the form of something, in return, even when it wasn't expected.

The theme of the book is love.This book shows that if the world doesn't have love, it has hate and if you don't have love, you have hate.With out love in the world, there would be no peace.It also shows us that even if you are a different color you still have the right to be loved.

This book was one of the best books I've read.I would recommend it to anyone who has a big heart with enough love for everyone in the world.I liked this book so much, because it caused me to stop and think, to check and see if I had enough lover in my heart for everyone in the world, just as the characters had.

Definitely worth the time to read
Whale talk was an incredible book. Not only was it written in a way that kept your attention every second of it, but it covered several important themes. Almost anybody in highschool or even older would enjoy this book because of its relevance to school life. The subject of racism in this book makes the reade think. The main character is one of the only non-white residents of their town, and even their area of the state. His struggles with racism are mainly in an attempt to make life better for another little girl in his town, not to stand up for himself. The main character is all about fairness, and he will do whatever it takes to stand up to people making life worse for someone else. He is responsible for starting a swim team at his school that makes it easy to get a varsity letter. The biggest reason why he did that was so that the brother of a now-deceased school hero can get his coveted varsity letter. Because their school is such a jock school, the team of misfits is not very widely accepted. The team is made of social outcasts and unlikely athletes, but they all end up very close to eachother. This book was inspiring athletically and thought-provoking socially. I'd reccomend it to anyone.

WHALE TALKIS A VERY , VERY GREATBOOK
WHALE TALK WAS VERY, VERY GOOD. I LIKED IT A LOT. IT HAD A LOT OF SWEAR WORDS IN IT, WHICH MADE ME WHAT TO READ IT MORE. THE PEOPLE IN THIS BOOK SWEAR A LOT LIKE I DO. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT SWIMMING AND SPORTS IF YOU LIKE SPORTS AND LIFE AND LITERATURE, THAN YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A TEAHER I HAD EVER ASSIGNED ME A BOOK WITH THIS AMOUNT OF SWEAR WOODS WHICH WAS ODD. THIS BOOK WAS A LITLLE HARD FOR ME TO READ BY MYSELF. THIS BOOK WAS A 220 PAGE BOOK, I LIKE LONG BOOKS WITH THAT MANY PAGES. YOU SHOULD ALSO TRY TO READ THESE OTHER CHRIS CRUTCHER BOOKS LIKE IRONMAN, STOTAN,AND CHINESE HANDCUFFS. CHRIS CRUTCHER SOUNDS LIKE A VERY GOOD AUTHOR.
ERIC, 16 YEARS OLD MISS WATER IS MY TEAHER ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (4)

An Excellent Book on Community and Relationships
I purchased this book (among many on here) for my unit on whales and the Inuit (Eskimo) people for my first grade class.This was a great book to share the relationship the people have with whales.It also shared a wonderful way the communities work together as well.What a great book! If you like whales, this is a great one to read to children!

Very Surprising
Although technically a children's book, "A Symphony of Whales" shook me up and blew me away with rich illustrations and an even more potent story.Sweet and simple, author Schuch tells the beautiful story of an Inuit girl and her whale spirit friend "Narna" -- and (not to give away the ending) the dramatic escape of three thousand whales trapped in an icy inlet of the Pacific ocean.

Not to be cute, but the book really is as much for adults as for children.Illustrator Peter Sylvada's pictures must literally be seen to be believed.

whales
I liked the girls kindness for the whales. She was cute and lovable. She was like a mother.

This is almost too good a book for kids....
Heard about this book on NPR and bought it for nephew cos I liked the idea and the story.What wasn't clearly told was just how incredibly rich Peter Sylvada's illustrations are... all oil paintings... they capture the beautyand harsh environment of Alaska, as well as slices of life from a nativeAlaskan village.Even southern dwellers can see some of why those who loveit do so. The story is clearly and simply told, with a very likeableheroine, and gave me shivers at the end... but it was really theillustrations that blew me away. ... Read more

Book Description
Onboard a vessel that would make Jacques Cousteau green with envy, the Cat and Co. take to the high seas in search of whales, dolphins, and porpoises—those aquatic mammals known as cetaceans. While learning how cetaceans stay warm without hair, have teeth or baleen, swim in troops, spyhop, spin, breach, and see via ecolocation, kids are introduced to almost 20 different species—including sperm, right, humpback, and blue whales; Gulf, spectacled, and finless porpoise; and boto, common, hourglass, and bottlenose dolphins. A shipshape selection for summer reading!

“The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library shows young readers that books can be entertaining and educational at the same time. This is a wonderful series!” —Barbara Kiefer, Ph.D., Charlotte S. Huck Professor of Children’s Literature, Ohio State University ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great reading!
I bought this book for my almost 3 yr old son who we ready this book to almost every night and he loves it. He has almost all the pages memorized. ... Read more

Book Description
A great resource for teachers!

Read and Wonder books tell stories, take children on adventures,
and reveal how big and WONDER-full the natural world really is. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Perfect science and read-aloud book.
A wonderfully succinct overview of the blue whale and it's habits.

The clear, sweet prose makes delivery of the content easy, and the very fine, soft illustrations demand repeated veiwing. My Preschool and Kindergarten ESL students found it highly engaging.

If there's a better science and read-aloud book around I'd really like to know about it. TEN stars.

Follow this book up with the superb "Is a Blue Whale the Biggest Thing There Is?" by Robert E. Wells. Wells' book uses the whales' size as a starting point for exploring the size of the universe and other very big things (the second step involves putting a hundred blue whales in a really big jar). Read my review of Wells' book if you like.

ONE OF THE BEST WHALE BOOKS AVAILABLE!
I'm a whale researcher who has spent much of the last 12 years studying blue whales in the North Pacific. I'm also a mom who loves children's literature. Rarely do I see a book that is so accurate factually while it is captivating and magical! The illustrations are beautiful. I highly recommend it to anyone who has children who are facinated by whales. ... Read more

Book Description
A beautifully illustrated guide to every species of whale, dolphin and porpoise.Covers their identification, evolution, biology, behaviour, reproduction and social lives. Includes tips on how and where to watch whales, dolphins and porpoises, and information on their conservation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

book review
overall the book is a great guide to identifying whales and dolphins.one thing about the book that i am not so happy about is the small text size.

Incredible
From the great illustrations and quick-reference title bar that includes taxonomic, habitat and population information, to the range maps and behavioral information, this book was such a steal. I received this book shortly before starting cetacean surveys in the south pacific and it was an incredible source of information. I have used many field guides and, although I never tested its 'water-proofness", it is simultaneously concise yet complete. It not only gives identification keys for individual species, but also keys to identifying individual animals. If you are a teacher, student, biologist or enthusiast, get it, wherever you are in the world.

Great in-depth quick reference handbook
I work on a whale watch boat in Kona, Hawaii and this book has been extremely helpful in my work. It is an excellent handbook on these mammals, a great in-depth introduction book for beginners and a great concise reference book for veterans as well. Very well made and designed with some photos and excellent illustrations. Very easy to navigate through the info and select what you need to know and refer back to it.
The best first whale book you can get until you are ready to go to a much more detailed study of these mammals.

A WONDERFUL ADDITION FOR ANY NATURE REFERENCE LIBRARY
This book is breathtaking. I had no idea there were 80 or more species of Cetaceans! While I may never have the opportunity to see any of these wonderful animals alive except in captivity, this book is a wonderful addition to my nature reference library. It is fascinating to read, and even scientists have not seen all of these cetaceans alive (some have been named by skeletal remains), or if they have reported seeing them alive, have possible doubts about the exact species observed. I will read this book over and over just because it is so fascinating. Beautifully illustrated, including maps of the individual species ranges. It also has an exact format, page to page, with clear, concise identification keys. Population numbers are shown where known, threats, habits, diet and habitat are also in a keyed format for each species represented. A wonderful book for anyone nature lovers, and especially good for children because so much information is provided about dwindling populations due to various types of assaults made on either the animals or their habitats by people. Even children who may not be able to clearly understand all of the text will find the pictures and the text that they can understand to be very enjoyable and educational. It is a book that most anyone will reach for again and again through the years!

The field bible on marine mammals
This book is universally recognised in the whale conservation world as the best of all field guides to whales, dolphins and porpoises. It has no peer for accuracy of information, and the drawings of species are the most reliable you can find. The organisation I am with, the Whale and Seal Foundation, gives a copy to every student in our marine mammal rescue workshop where we train government agencies and carer groups in whale rescue including species identification. ... Read more

Book Description

How big are whales? How do whales breathe? Do they live alone or in groups? Why are so many whales in danger? This exceptional book for beginning readers explores one of the most amazing animals in the sea.

Featuring breathtaking photographs from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Amazing Whales! is the latest title in a new I Can Read Book series about the fascinating animals that share our world and how we can help to keep them healthy and safe.

Ages 4+

Customer Reviews (1)

A Great Book for a Beginning Readers
I am a school librarian and I really loved this book.It helps to fill a nitch that is underserved - books for beginning readers that are interesting and well done.This book if chock full of facts about whales and they are presented in a very kid friendly way.An example, "Its tounge weighs as much as an elephant" is much better than the tounge weighs "X" pounds.The pictures are great as well.All in all, this book is a winner.We need more such books to fill that gap in children's literature.Kudos to the author.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Humphrey the lost whale
I think this book is good because it is a true story about a lost humpback whale that goes into the Sacramento River. I like this book because we are studying marine mammals in class.

Reading Rainbow
I first saw this book on Reading Rainbow, one of my favorite PBS shows as a kid. The story fascinated me, and I'm glad I was able to get my hands on a copy. It's about a whale who can't seem to stay with his family (which all kids can identify with at one time or another), and how the community helps him find them again.

The best whale "true story."
The kind of book you think of when you're looking for a good whale story.Lots of personality and drama, and a super read-aloud for kids even asyoung as 4.Another fun whale story is The Whale Comedian, which is morehumorous and whimsical, but, like Humphrey, shows what kids like most: howwe can be friends with these exciting sea creatures.

Awesome Book!!!
The kids I used to babysit used to demand that I read this one incessantly. Very well-written, well-illustrated and cute. ... Read more

Book Description
`The title epitomizes Esbensen's creative presentation of an important concept: how whales differ from the fish they seem to resemble and share characteristics with other mammals.… An excellent addition to the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series.'—K. `Introduces a full range of information about whale anatomy, development, and behavior.… Esbensen's simple, informative text keeps its young audience clearly in view.'—BL.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good science book for young readers
This is yet another fine addition to a great series for young children. It contained quite a bit of information on whales, but not too much for young readers to digest. The illustrations could have been a bit more varied. ... Read more

Book Description
DK presents exciting new covers for 13 of your favorite Ultimate Sticker Books: Animal, Baby Animal, Ballet, Bug, Bulldozer, Dangerous Dinosaurs, Dinosaur, Ancient Egypt, Farm, Pony, Shark and Whale, Space, and Truck. Annotated with factual information, each book contains more than 60 full-color, reusable stickers so children can create their own fun scenes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Great teaching tool
I have used this book with several grade levels effectively.I originally purchased the book to give my third grade social studies class in an inner city New York school a concept of how high Mt. Everest is when they were studying China.They became so fascinated that we postponed the Himalaya lesson and ended up reading to the end of the book.They loved it!There are so many ways this book can be used with a classroom.It's a great way to involve children in the concept of estimating and they really get into guessing "how many" or trying to predict the very biggest thing there is.School age children enjoy the challenge of seeing how long it takes to count to 100 and then guessing how long it might take to reach a larger number.The children began asking "how long" to count to millions and billions if you counted 24 hours a day, creating a teachable moment when I helped them use math skills to discover the answer, which led to a discussion about setting up counting 'tag teams', if counting that long was feasible...the educational oportunities are endless, especially if you let the children's curiosity and creative thinking lead the lesson.All this was just from the first page of the book!I plan to purchase more books by this author in the hope they are equally thought-provoking.

Biggest There Is
This book is about a big blue whale and other things that's bigger than the big blue whale.This book use very big numbers of things to add up to compare them with one really big thing.This book tells about the universe and how big they think it is.our galaxy is the biggest yet.There are other galaxies that are probaly a million times bigger than ours. A blue whale is the biggest animal on earth but what is the biggest galaxy in space?

Great picture book for science and math integration
This is one of my favorite books. Every class I've ever used it with, from 1st grade up to 5th, has been fascinated. The illustrations are eye catching and perfectly correspond to the text. Literature should be intergrated across the curriculum. This book can help introduce lessons on big numbers and place value. It can also be used to tie into science lessons, with the size of the solar system or animal species. All elementary classrooms should have a copy of this book. It is both educational and interesting.

4th Graders Use it too!
Fourth graders find this book amazing when beginning a unit on the solar system.It helps them put the size of the Earth in perspective compared to the sun and other planets.I use an accompanying sheet that asks the children to number all of the objects from the book (a whale, the sun, etc..)in order according to size.Then they check their answers as I read the book aloud.It's a wonderful way to open the unit!Definitely get this book and try it!!

A clear winner of the Darryl Award
Fantastic book, despite the nit-picking in one of the editorial reviews above.

This book really helps little kids come to grips with the idea of relative size. My preschool and kindergarten ESL students will founder when asked to understand/believe that a little patch of color on a globe is their country (Taiwan). Heck, kids this age don't even have much idea what a country is, let alone how big it is in relation to anything else. But this book sure set some lightbulbs to poppin' over kid's heads! That's how I measure the success of my classes and the materials I use in them, and by that measure, this book is a clear winner of the Darryl Award for Excellence in Children's Literature in the Field of Science and Mathematics!

The perfect book to partner with this book is the excellent Big Blue Whale by Nicola Davies (see my review of it). The focus Ms. Davies book is the whale itself. I found that using Ms. Davies' book before Mr. Wells' worked very well indeed. ... Read more

Book Description
On November 20, 1820, the whaleship Essex was rammed and sunk by an angry whale. Within minutes, the twenty-one-man crew, including the fourteen-year-old cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, found themselves stranded in three leaky boats in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with barely any supplies and little hope. Three months later, two of the boats were rescued 4,500 miles away, off the coast of South America. Of the twenty-one castaways, only eight survived, including young Thomas. Based on his New York Times best-seller In the Heart of the Sea, Nathaniel Philbrick recreates the amazing events of the ill-fated Essex through the sailors’ own first