Pipaluk And The Whales
reSchool-Grade 2-Watercolor and colored-pencil artwork done in soft Arctic hues illustrate this story based on a real incident. In December 1984, off Russia's Chukchi Peninsula, approximately 3000 beluga whales became trapped in winter ice. The villagers of the area, normally hunters of the white whales, worked diligently to keep an area open until the end of February, when the icebreaker Moskva was able to cut a 12-mile channel in the surrounding ice. However, the now-freed whales initially refused to follow the ship, until classical music broadcast from its speakers led them out to open water. Himmelman creates a human girl, Pipaluk, as the focal character, but keeps the whales authentic. Another recent rendition of this story, Steve Schuch's A Symphony of Whales (Harcourt, 1999), also features a little girl as rescuer, but gives the story a more mystical gloss. Himmelman's simply told tale and lovely artwork bring the plight of the whales, the starry winter nights, and the efforts of the rescue team to life for this audience.Sue Sherif, Alaska State Library, AnchorageCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.