Librarian leaves the silo

Kata Welch

Whales in the City by Nancy F. Castaldo Illustrated by Chuck Groenink

This is a book about hope, redemption and whales.

It is the story of whales who used to live around what is now New York City.  As people moved into the city, the water became polluted and the whales and other fish left.  People organized and protested and the Clean Water Act was passed.  The river was cleaned up and the whales and other fish came back.  I also want to mention the fabulous art.  I love how Groenink shows a progression of time in a two page spread.

In some ways, this is a sequel to The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. In that book, as I’m sure you remember, the Once-ler destroys the truffula trees and there’s only one seed left.  There is that quote “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”  This book is what happens when someone cares a whole awful lot. It shows the power of the people to make change.

This book has similar themes to Alberto Salas Plays Paka-Paka con la Papa and could be paired with it in a Red Clover unit.

My ideas for using this book in classes:

Science- Researching whales and what they need to survive.

Looking at other projects to clean up the planet, like the plastic interceptors: https://theoceancleanup.com/rivers/

This could connect with earth day, composting and recycling activities

Social Studies:

The history of New York City

The history and current practice of whale hunting 

Geography of the Hudson River

Civic responsibility and protesting

Create a timeline of the history of New York City

Art- creating a time progression in a piece of art- you could pair this with the timeline.

Related books: