Pipaluk and the Whale by John Kimmelman

Pipaluk and the Whale by John Kimmelman

Pipaluk and her father are on their way back to their village after a successful hunting trip when they find thousands of beluga whales in an opening in the ice. At first, they see the animals as an easy way to provide food for their village for the whole winter. Then they realizes that the whales are trapped and that they must do something to help them. The villagers try to free the whales but the water is freezing over faster than they can work. The whales will drown if they can't get help. The village elder sends a messenger to officials in a nearby village where there is an icebreaker. Weeks pass and the villagers keep chipping away at the ice and even feeding the whales some of their own supply of frozen fish. Just when things look hopeless for the whales, the icebreaker arrives, cutting a channel to the whales. But the noise of the ship's engines scares the whales and they refuse to follow the ship. Pipaluk remembers how her singing seemed to calm the whales. The captain uses the ship's speakers to broadcast music from the ship. To everyone's relief the whales follow the ship to freedom. In an author's note, readers learn that in 1985 a Russian icebreaker really did free thousands of beluga whales by playing classical music.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780792282174
ISBN 10	0792282175
Title	Pipaluk and the Whale
Author	John Kimmelman
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	National Geographic Books
Year published	2002-02-01
Number of pages	32
Prizes	Short-listed for Connecticut Book Awards (Children's Lit./Author) 2003
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable