Orca whales , also known as "killer whales" are the theme . In this book , a boy and his father watch from a cliff as a pod of whales surface, leap and plunge into the ocean , as the boy observes the whales. ( )

This is a sweet and simple story about a young buy who watches the whales swimming by the shore where he is standing with his father. The story follows his thoughts on the Orca whales and what they may be thinking of him and whether or not they can talk in their underwater lives.

Although a sweet story, I felt like the book was slow paced and didn't have a very good plot. The book was less of a story and more of a brief introduction to whales and nature. I didn't enjoy reading this book because of this and likely would not chose this book for my classroom unless I was teaching a unit on Whales.

Awards: Parents choice award

Award Descriptions:
Parents choice award: Designed to help parents and caregivers of all achievements and backgrounds make informed decisions about which new products are right for their children, the Parents' Choice Awards is the nation's oldest nonprofit program created to recognize quality children's media. The Parents' Choice Awards program honors the best material for children: books, toys, music and storytelling, magazines, software, videogames, television and websites.

APA Citation:
Bunting, E., & Davis, L. (2003). Whales passing. New York: Blue Sky Press. ( )

This would be a great book to use when learning about whales or the ocean. It is a loving story between a father and son's relationship of whale watching. I liked how the author tells the story from the whales' point of view also. ( )

A kid watches the whales and asks questions (some good examples of metaphor), and then imagines & wonders the conversation of the whales when they saw the boy (shift in point of view). The kid then imagines how he'll teach his mom what he learned today about orcas (future tense). Overall, a cute story but also presented an opportunity to explore these different literary elements. Touches on the themes of respect for other creatures and "to each his own" (the whales are amazed that humans don't value blubber). Nonfiction section at end to learn more about orcas. ( )

Summary: This story is about a boy and his dad who watch from the shore as orca whales swim by. The father and son connect with each other as they talk about the whales. The boy imagines what their underwater life is like. After wondering if the whales can talk, he imagines their conversations and if they were to talk about him and his dad, just as they were talking about the whales.

Genre Critique: This is a good example of realistic fiction, because the setting, characters, and events are all believable. Through the boy's thoughts and the father's input, the author provides vivid and accurate descriptions of the whales. Students can easily relate to discovering something new and being amazed by it, just as the boy experienced awe and wonder while watching the whales.

Style Critique: The author presents several types of style in her word choice and sentence construction. The story is engaging and reads like poetry. The author is consistent in her use of imagery and rhyme in the book. The use of imagery was effective, because I was able to clearly imagine the orcas and their actions were brought to life. The imagery also set a clear scene of the ocean and surrounding nature in the picture. The use of rhyme was effective, because it helped the text read smoothly, connecting one thought to another. The elements of style in this book add interest and wonder to an otherwise simple text about whales.