Whales: The Gentle Giants

This is a great supplemental book for sea creature research. It is a short and sweet factual non-fiction book, and it is also a guided reading book. If I were to use this book for guided reading, I would focus my activities after reading on finding textual evidence to back up the facts they learn about whales.

This is a good book for younger students especially. It is a very clear, simple book about the different types of whales as well as the history of whales. It has a small paragraph on each page with a picture it illustrate the text. It is a good length that the students can read it in one or two sittings, but still long enough to teach them plenty about whales.

This book discusses different facts about whales. I liked that the book uses comparisons because I think this is sometimes easier for younger students to understand. For example, “a baby blue whale is even bigger than an elephant.” Most students will not have seen a whale, but they will know how big an elephant is. This allows readers to understand just how big a blue whale is! The book then tells a little bit about different species of whales. Whales are mammals, not fish. The book explains how whales breathe and why they are mammals. The diet of whales is also described. Whales eat tiny sea animals and water. According to the book, people used to hunt whales, but it was very dangerous.
This book was very informative, which I show more liked. However, at the beginning of the book, the people on the boat were praising God and praying, so I do not really think this is something that I could use in a classroom. However, parents could use this book to teacher their children about whales. show less

This book is loaded with interesting facts about many different species of whales and whales in general. It is a good introduction, and likely to spark further interest.

An easy to read book filled with interesting facts. I loved the book as a child and am sure students would enjoy it. This could be used during a science unit on animals and development.

This book is very informative. While using simple, short sentences, the book includes many facts about whales. The illustrations included many different images of whales, maps, and illustrated facts discussed in the book.

Did you know that hundreds of years ago people believed that whales were monsters? Did you know that some whales are as big as small islands? Learn amazing facts about whales.