Life in a Dolphin Pod

Children's Literature

Family life has its advantages: protection, easier access to food, socialization. The same can be said for a family, or pod, of dolphins. Kalman pulls many illustration sources together to present an attractive book for children who are naturally attracted to dolphins. After presenting some fundamentals—that these social animals include a large variety of true dolphins, Kallman goes on to discuss what life is like in a dolphin family, how group size differs depending on proximity to land, and what terms scientists assign to various dolphin pods. Kalman has included some text about how dolphins communicate with one another, how they play, nap or nurture young within their groups. Most interesting is the two-page chart showing how groups hunt. Part of a four-volume series, "Dolphin Worlds," the book also deals with sadder aspects of pod life: mass strandings, and death in tuna net fisheries. This an ideal book for the curious grade-schooler who is interested in hows and whys of dolphin life. 2003, Crabtree Publishing Company,
— Judy Crowder <%ISBN%>0778711641