ALA Booklist
"Short, clear, and precise, the text is well suited to primarygrade students. A practical choice for children…"
Children's Literature
- Judy Crowder
Dolphins are favorites with young readers everywhere. Now beginning readers can read about these marine mammals in this book, part of the "I Can Read! Wildlife Conservation Society" series. Classified as a level 2 book, reading with help, the book explores the world of dolphins: the noises they make, how these noises help them find food, communicate with other dolphins, or avoid predators, such as sharks. Easy-to-understand text includes the number of dolphin species, where they may live in the world's oceans, and how their coloring may vary. The book explains briefly how scientists study dolphins, how they are protected from commercial fisherman's tuna nets, and the reminder that humankind and pollution can still threaten these marine mammals. Photo illustrations provide lots of close-ups of these amazing animals.
School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-Through just a few lines of text per page, beginning readers can learn about dolphins. While there is enough information here for elementary reports, the fuzziness of the full-color photos detracts from the book's appeal for general audiences. Thomson discusses echolocation and other types of communication; the structure and uses of the blowhole; geographic range; coloration; social interactions; young dolphins; dolphins as prey for sharks, killer whales, and people; and governmental protection programs. A supplemental purchase.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, Waterford, NJ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Thomson offers another of her well-written nonfiction easy readers in the I Can Read series, this time exploring the perennially popular topic of dolphins. One of this volume's best features is the excellent full-color photographs of dolphins in their natural habitat, including underwater views and some amazing shots of dolphins leaping out of the water in play. The simple text gives a coherent and interesting introduction to the world of dolphins, written for children who are reading independently but who still need limited sentence length and a large typeface. Some of the topics covered are anatomy, communication, locations and endangerment. Although this volume is part of an easy reader series, it will also serve well as an informational source for reports or science studies. (Easy reader. 4-8)
