Saturday, July 23, 2011

38. Whale Port by Mark Foster (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)

BOOK/PICTURE BOOK: NONFICTION (ages 7-10)

Brief Description: Foster traces the development of a fictional port he calls "Tuckanucket" over time as the whaling industry grows and wanes off the coast of what is now New England.

Awards: James Madison Book Award, 2008; Massachusetts Book Award, 2008; Mind the Gap Award, 2008

Personal Opinion: I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic book about the development of the fictional whale port. Being a native New Englander, I puzzled during the entire book about the town - I had never heard of it, and wondered how I could have missed such history! Foster includes information at the end of the book about the sources he used to pull together this treatment. Detailed drawings lend themselves to the simple text, permitting the reader to really see how such a port could change over time. Great nonfiction title that I'll be recommending to my young readers!

Curriculum/Programming: This book lends itself to being used in a history class focused on the New England whaling industry. It would make a great supplement to history classes for both younger and middle school students as well.

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