Killer Whale

Grade 3-5-Lovely, readable photo essays. Killer Whale introduces Takara, who was born in captivity at Sea World in San Diego, and to the other killer whales that live there. Sea Lions focuses on Pumpkin and Piper, two weak, eight-month-old pups who were rescued during a winter storm and nursed back to health at the Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach. Each book discusses the subject's behavior, drawing parallels between its activities in captivity to those exhibited in the wild; e.g., the killer whale's trick of sliding up onto a platform during a show is the same action it uses to pursue a sea lion onto a beach or ice floe. Hewett's bright, full-color photographs appear on every page and amplify the texts. Descriptions of physiological details (the killer whale eats 300 pounds of food per day; the sea lion's normal heart rate of 85 beats per minute drops to 10 per minute to prolong its supply of oxygen during diving) make the animals come to life. There are no chapter divisions, but one-page indexes lead readers to such varied topics as sharks, dolphins, fur, and hauling grounds. Sea Lions does not treat the subject in as great a depth as Dorothy Hinshaw Patent's Seals, Sea Lions and Walruses (Holiday, 1990), but Hewett's photographs are of much better quality. More environmental information is presented in Vassili Papastavrou's Seals and Sea Lions (Bookwright, 1991).
Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Two books from a series that includes Camel, Cheetah, Elephant, Panda, Snake, and Wild Goat. Both Killer Whale and Sea Lion are fact-studded offerings (Did you know that the milk of the California sea lion has 35% fat and 13% protein or that killer whales live in groups called resident pods and transient pods?). But both books suffer from an overall lack of organization that may be baffling to readers. Information is presented in a seemingly random fashion, without the benefits of chapter or subject headings, either of which would have done much to unify the excellent material presented here. An index at the back of each book is only of slight help in this regard. The photographs--full- color, ample, and lush--are what distinguish these volumes. Shots of the killer whale's blow hole, both in its open and closed states; close-ups of its teeth; images of baby sea lions nursing at their mothers' sides or rubbing noses are sure to inspire readers and engage them in the marvelous otherness of these fascinating creatures. Indexes. (Nonfiction. 7+) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.