The Whale, by Valerie Tracqui

Tracqui, Valerie (2004). The Whale: Giant of the Ocean. Watertown, Ma.: Charlesbridge, 29 pages.

This brief book uses text, photos, and captions to tell the story of the humpback whale. The book discusses the whale's body structure, migration, mating, and other general topics. It also includes information on ongoing work to save the endangered species and brief introductions to other species of whales. While the main text is helpful and informative, I found that the most interesting parts of this book were the captions to the high-quality photographs. For example, I learned that humpback whales have two blowholes that spout air, water vapor, and mucous. Whales also have whisker like hairs on their faces to help them sense what is around them. I admit I'm a little biased in my enjoyment of this book due to my love of whales.