Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Whales



By Cynthia Rylant

This is an older book that I found in the curriculum lab. I chose to read this book because I was familiar with the name Cynthia Rylant but have never read any of her books. I think it is great how she wrote and illustrated the book. I like how the book is written as a poem about whales. Rylant is definitely able to capture the grand and majestic characteristic of whales. I felt that I actually learned a few things about whales from the poems. For instance, I learned how whales do not have a sense of smell and how they communicate by sound and touch by the part " But a rose is lost on them, for they haven't any sense of smell. No matter. They love songs and touching and can court without flowers." I do however have an issue with one of the last pages that reads, "Like angels appearing in the sky, whales are proof of God." I think that some parents may have an issue with that part of the book. Other than that, I loved the illustrations and the unique style of writing that the author uses. I also like the page at the end that has pictures of whales with their names on them so students can see all the different types of whales that were written about in the book.

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