Parents' Guide to

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

By Susan Faust, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 7+

Grand story of blue whale death and new life it supports.

Book Lynn Brunelle Picture Book 2024
Life After Whale book cover: A blue whale is seen under the blue ocean water with the sun shining above

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What's the Story?

A 90-year-old blue whale lives out her waning days in LIFE AFTER WHALE: THE AMAZING ECOSYSTEM OF A WHALE FALL. She drifts slowly, lunges deep, feeds on krill, and sends out a humming tone heard far away, all as usual. "But today something is different." Her heart is slowing down and wearing out. It quiets and stops. Like all living things, she dies. Her death is the ending of one story, but the beginning of another—how a whale fall "ignites a cascade of new life," how her decomposing body supports new creatures at every depth for 150 years. Sharks, sea cucumber, crabs, snails, octopuses, and even krill benefit from the flesh, bones, and gasses emitted from her carcass. The whale fall demonstrates the circle of life. Back matter gives additional information about blue whales and the four phases of a whale fall.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

From shimmery shallows to black depths, an ocean ecosystem is explored in this magnificent and mesmerizing picture book about the blue whale, first in life and then in death. The seamless interplay of words and pictures makes for an exciting and exemplary nonfiction book in Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall. Information is conveyed in many strategic and accessible ways. Watery blue art, diagrams, maps, and graceful explanations in the text blend to give specificity to the term "life cycle"—what it means for an animal to live out its life, die of natural causes, and then generate new life for over 150 years. Here, the passion for accuracy is evident in every detail, engendering respect for and awe of both the natural world and science. And here, the hard subjects of dying and death are handled with uncommon candor and sensitivity. Kids love whales. This layered book about a blue whale will satisfy their curiosity about the largest animal to ever live and take them well beyond the factual to the philosophical—to questions of life and death.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall and discuss the life cycle of a blue whale from birth to death. Do you know any babies yourself or people who are 90? What are some amazing things about new babies and older people?

  • The term "whale fall" might be new to you. Can you explain what it means? Do you think it describes well what happens after the death of a blue whale and the beginning of a new ecosystem? How does the life-giving promise of a whale fall make you feel?

  • Both the author and illustrator have tried to convey scale—the sheer size of the blue whale. Do the comparisons in the text and in the various diagrams and charts help show size differences? What is the biggest animal you have ever seen? The smallest?

  • How do you feel about the watercolor illustrations? Do they convey information? Do they create a mood?

Book Details

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