Neal Porter Books/Holiday House | 978-0823452286
Did you know that when the largest animal on earth — the blue whale — dies, it is the end of one story, and the beginning of another?
“The death of a whale awakens and ignites a cascade of new life.
An entirely new ecosystem will build around this singular whale’s passing. Her body will provide shelter and food for millions of creatures for more than a hundred years…. Scientists call this a whale fall.”
We know that life begets life and, in much the same way as happens when a tree falls, new life springs up in what remains as the tree decays. Even so, I’d never thought to wonder about what happens when a whale dies. In fact, according to author Lynn Brunelle, research and study of whale falls is a rather newish science.
LIFE AFTER WHALE: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall begins as an enormous blue whale drifts through rippled water.
“Just above her, thousands of tiny, shrimp-like krill merge and mingle into a massive pink cloud near the suface. With a single beat of her enormous tail fluke, she surges upward and lunges!”
With clear prose and poetic language, Lynn Brunelle deftly leads readers into the undersea habitat of a blue whale. Though she is over 85 feet long (the equivalent of more than 8 stories high!), “she moves with grace and power, like a dancer, as she plunges, drifts, and whirls above and below the currents of the Pacific Ocean.”
Interesting facts fill the opening pages. For example, did you know that every six months a new layer of wax lines the ear canal of a blue whale and that these lines are like the rings on a tree trunk, allowing scientists to, not only determine the age of a whale, but, also how many times the whale was pregnant, and information about such things as the temperatures of the water, or pollution in the sea?
Amazing, isn’t it?
And that’s just the beginning because, soon, this beautiful mammal will die, and when she does, the whale fall begins.
This fascinating and informative account of the phases of a whalefall and the thriving ecosystem it supports will ignite the curiosity of young readers. Helpful resources, links to videos (such as THIS ONE about researchers’ discovery of a whalefall during a 2019 exhibition below the surface near the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary) encourage young readers to learn more.
Jason Chin, known for his techinical precision and carefully rendered watercolor and gouache on paper, bring this underwater world to life.
**
Pair LIFE AFTER WHALE: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall with WHALE FALL: Exploring the Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart and Rob Dunlavey.
