The partnership of author Robert Burleigh and artist Wendell
Minor has once again produced a powerful nonfiction picture book. When reading Trapped!: A Whale’s Rescue, I think it’s
best to just enjoy it, letting the words and paintings surprise you, capture
your attention, and stir your emotions. I read the book three times for
enjoyment before I allowed my “critical reviewer’s lens” to creep in.
So, why did I enjoy it? Here are a few reasons:
·
The
Show-Stopping Cover: The front cover shows a whale almost completely
submerged under water and a diver—so small by comparison—shining his flashlight
on the netting that has trapped this whale. The back cover extends this
illustration, showing another diver pulling off some of the netting, while
observers in a rescue boat nearby look on. This cover hooked me immediately and
raised questions: How did the whale become trapped? Will the divers save it?
·
The
Language: From the beginning, the language celebrates this magnificent
animal, appealing to my sense of sight and sound. Here’s a sample:
The
huge humpback whale dips and dives.
Her
sleek black sides shimmering,
she
spyhops, lobtails, flashes her flukes.
Even
though I later had to look up both spyhop
and lobtail, I was hooked.
·
The Plot
Thickens: Danger comes in the shape of nets left by crab fisherman. The
whale is trapped and we see the word TRAPPED
in large white capital letters. In fact, when the text deals with the
life-threatening struggle to free the whale, the print switches from black to
icy white. This only added to the tension I felt.
·
Relief
and Safety: Rescuers arrive and they manage to cut the netting and free the
whale. And, as a perfect ending, the whale nudges divers as if giving them
thanks before heading off. What a relief. The book moved in a satisfying
progression: from joyful celebration of the whale, to danger, to rescue, and
back to joyful celebration. I felt this relief.
·
Back
Matter: For fans of extending a story, the back matter provides more
information about this true story, more information about rescuing whales, and
more sources of information. To read an article about this event in the San Francisco Chronicle, go to http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Daring-rescue-of-whale-off-Farallones-Humpback-2557146.php
I honestly don’t like the idea of analyzing why I like this
book so much. I just do. When a book grabs me so strongly, that’s more than enough for me. I
think that in addition to showing children how nonfiction works, we should also take time to celebrate its power to nourish
our hearts and minds. Let’s ask
our students which books grab them.
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