Dolphin Talk: Whistles, Clicks, and Clapping Jaws (Let's Read-and-Find-out Science Book Series) ANNOTATION
Describes how dolphins communicate with each other in squeaks, whistles, and pops.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dolphins are smart. They are so smart that they can talk to each other. Dolphins communicate underwater for the same reason people talk on land: to let others know who they are, where they are, and maybe even how to feel. Also included are activities that explore how dolphins talk to each other.
FROM THE CRITICS
School Library Journal
Gr 1-2-Beginning readers will enjoy this introductory title on dolphin communication. In addition to the creatures' use of clicks, whistles, and squeaks, the book explains how they use movements to send messages and echolocation to locate objects in the water. Pfeffer does a great job of keeping the concept understandable and comparing human and animal communication, but children may have some difficulty reading the text against the few dark pages. Davie's watercolor illustrations are pleasant and upbeat. The final spread with a labeled cross section of a dolphin is particularly informative.-Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A Stage 2 entry in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out series seeks to explain the mysteries of dolphin communication. Drawing parallels between human and dolphin interactions, Pfeffer describes dolphin vocabulary and the circumstances under which particular noises and gestures are made. Clear watercolors picture dolphins in diagram and in their natural environment; the varying angles and perspectives keep the blue-green sameness of palette from becoming boring. The text sticks narrowly to its topic, shining in its description of echolocation and its observations about dolphin behavior. It falls down, however, in its explanation of the "hows" of dolphin communication. Although it carefully discusses the role of cranial air sacs in the creation of dolphin vocalization, it's largely mute on the function of the "melon" (carefully labeled in more than one diagram) in the production or reception of sound, leaving a big question mark for curious readers. That there is very little else that goes into such detail on the subject for the age group makes this lack of explanation particularly frustrating; it also makes this, despite its flaws, a reasonable purchase. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)
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