Bowhead Whale. (Animals Illustrated). Joanasie Karpik. Illustrated by Sho Uehara. Iqaluit, NU: Inhabit Media, 2017. 24 pp., hardcover, $15.95. ISBN 978-1-77227-162-1. Subject Heading: Bowhead whale-Juvenile literature. Preschool-grade 2 / Ages 4-7. Review by Roxy Garstad. **** /4

Excerpt:

Bowhead whales eat very small creatures called “zooplankton.” Zooplankton are tiny animals that live in the ocean and drift along with the current. They are so small that human eyes cannot see them without a microscope. Inuit call these tiny animals “illiraq.”

Bowhead Whale is another captivating addition to the “Animals Illustrated” series. It is a nonfiction book about the physical features and habitat of the bowhead whale which lives in the Arctic Ocean. The book is divided into sections covering such topics as: range, skeleton, blowholes, baleen, diet, reproduction, predators, fun facts, and traditional uses. There are typically two short paragraphs per heading, with plenty of detailed diagrams and illustrations.

      Although Bowhead Whale is a nonfiction book, the text is written in an engaging style that will hold a young child’s interest in the same way that a fiction title might. Sentences are short, clear, and to-the-point. That the author seemingly anticipates the questions young readers may pose results in an engaging relay of facts. References to Inuit culture are peppered throughout. The illustrations are simple and clear, and of special note is the depiction of the whale’s unique skeleton.

     Bowhead Whale is a must-have for all children’s library collections.

Highly Recommended.

Roxy Garstad is the Collections Librarian at MacEwan University in Edmonton, AB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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