228. Adelina's Whales by Richard Sobol

Adelina's Whales by Richard Sobol (Canada) - (US)

Pages: 32
Ages: 8+
Finished: Oct. 3, 2011
First Published: 2003
Publisher: Dutton Children's Books
Genre: children, non-fiction, nature, marine life, picture book
Rating: 4/5


First sentence:

La Laguna is the name of a quiet, dusty fishing village on the sandy shore of Laguna San Ignacio, in Baja California, Mexico.

Acquired: Borrowed a copy through Inter-Library Loan.

Reason for Reading: I am reading Richard Sobol's entire backlist with my son and discussing the life of a photographer/photojournalist as a career option while doing so.

Sobol offers us another book filled with gorgeous photography of gray whales, up close and personal, as here on La Laguna the whales allow people to come right up to them and pet them.  We follow ten-year-old Adelina who lives in a grouping of box-like structures patched together with wood and metal on the beach.  She adores her life here especially when in January the whales arrive from up north.  We learn about Adelina's life and that of the whales through Adelina's family, her father and grandfather.  A lovely story with tremendous photography to accompany it.