With sturdy, streamlined bodies, outfitted with insulating blubber, flippers, tail flukes and fins, whales -- all known as cetaceans -- are built for life in the water. In Exploring the World of Whales, we meet the baleen whales and the largest members of the toothed whales, including the killer whale, the biggest of the dolphins. These marine mammals range in size from the 108-foot-long (33 m) blue whale to the barely 9-foot-long (2.7 m) dwarf sperm whale while boasting a range of distinctive physical traits, including the sperm whale's gigantic head, the humpback's barnacle-covered body and outsized flippers, and the narwhal's eight-foot-long tusk. Young readers will learn the difference between the baleen and toothed whales and how these differences affect habitat, diet and behaviors. They'll discover how whales communicate with one another across vast stretches of ocean, how some cooperate to raise families and hunt their prey, and how some are capable of remarkable feats of migration and deep diving. A lively, fully illustrated introduction to some of the planet's most intelligent species, this book also addresses the ongoing risks to whale populations. The Exploring the World of... nature series was created for young readers who are eager to learn more about the wild creatures of the world. Each title contains beautiful photographs of the animals in their natural habitats and the highly readable text explores their daily lives and physical characteristics, how they make their homes, how they raise their young and what they eat. AGES: 8 to 12 AUTHOR: Tracy C. Read is an editor and writer with a special interest in nature and the environment.
