{"id":41144,"date":"2025-02-13T08:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-13T13:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeemedreader.com\/?p=41144"},"modified":"2025-02-13T13:23:38","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T18:23:38","slug":"life-after-whale-by-lynn-brunelle-and-jason-chin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeemedreader.com\/life-after-whale-by-lynn-brunelle-and-jason-chin\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Sibert Medal Winner: Life After Whale by Lynn Brunelle and Jason Chin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Life after Whale, the 2025 Sibert Medal for excellence in nonfiction, pictures the phenomenon of \u201cWhale Fall\u201d: how the earth\u2019s largest living creature supports thriving ecosystems for decades after death.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Life after Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall<\/em><\/strong> by Lynn Brunelle, illustrated by Jason Chin. Neal Porter Books (Holiday House), 2024, 48 pages.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n
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Reading Level<\/strong>: Picture book, ages 4-8<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recommended for<\/strong>: ages 5-10<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTE: This review originally appeared on June 27, 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A blue whale, earth\u2019s largest living creature, glides majestically through the ocean. Year after year, she migrates north to south and back again, feeds on unimaginable quantities of tiny sea creatures, mates and reproduces. But all lives eventually end, and at 90 years the whale is slowing down, eating less. Eventually she dies. But death to a whale is life to hundreds of other creatures, from the birds and fish that feed on her bloated body all the way down to the deep-sea worms that colonize her bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhale fall\u201d is the term for a whale\u2019s literal sinking to the ocean floor after its body loses buoyancy. In three distinct phases, creation makes use of this natural phenomenon, from the active scavengers to the plantlike organisms introduced over a hundred years later. The process may seem brutal to sensitive readers, but others will be fascinated by the ways God provides for the cycles of life. The text is clear and stylish and Jason Chin provides his usual excellence in the sweeping, colorful illustrations. As a bonus, there’s no mention of evolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom Line: A fascinating look at a corner of creation most of us never suspected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also at Redeemed Reader:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n