"It is the end of one story - the story of the
whale's life. But it just the beginning of
another story.
The death of a whale awakens and ignites
a cascade of new life.
An entirely new ecosystem will build around
this singular whale's passing. Her body will
provide shelter and food for millions of
creatures for more than a hundred years.
A whole new world will arise. Scientists
call this a whale fall.
It starts right away."
There is much to learn as you make your way through this extraordinary book. Nature is an amazing subject and the story of a whale's death holds interest and intrigue from start to finish. I had no idea just how fascinating it would be.
A whale swims close to the surface in late afternoon light, taking note of the 'massive pink cloud' above her. She surfaces with mouth wide open and traps an enormous number of krill in the thousands of gallons of seawater she pushes through the baleen back to the ocean.
"She swallows enough krill to fill a school bus."
She is a blue whale and the wax in her ear canal tells scientists she is ninety years old. Her lifetime is measured right there. The author provides other important facts about the whale before explaining that today is different from other days; today is the day she dies.
It is only the beginning of another very different story. Her death will build an ecosystem to feed and sustain many, many creatures for more than a hundred years. This is a whale fall, and the changes begin immediately. Scavengers react to the signals presented by the death and feast from above and below. Soon, the body begins to sink.
What happens over the next hundred years is chronicled in unambiguous text that is accompanied by the distinctive watercolor and gouache artwork we have come to know in previous books by Jason Chin. The illustraions are accurate, yet quite beautiful, while showing the whale's beauty at the surface and then resting far below in the darkness of the deepest ocean. It is a remarkably well-researched and shared story. What a graceful way to show how death supports life, both in words and pictures.
A Bit About Blue Whales, What Are Ecosystems? and It's a Phase provide further information and are followed by lists of print and web resources and a selected bibliography.
Don't miss it!
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