Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic
by Candace Fleming; illus by Deena So’Oteh
48 pages; ages 4-8
Anne Schwartz Books, 2024
theme: ocean, whales, ecology
You are a narwhal – shy, swift, small (for a whale).
Your ivory tusk sprouts from your upper left jaw, “thick as a lamppost, taller than a man.” Which is okay because, now that you’re full grown, you’re at least 16 feet long. I hope you’ve got a good layer of blubber, because you’re living in the Arctic! On this winter day, when you poke your head through the ice, you spot another male. And so you do what guy narwhals do: you cross tusks. Clackety-clack! They sound like wooden sticks smacking each other.
Are you playing?
Fighting?
Showing off for a female?
Beyond the Books:
Learn more about narwhals and check out a video at National Geographic and more facts at the World Wildlife Fund.
Compare yourself to a narwhal. Grab a tape measure and some chalk and head out to the nearest sidewalk or driveway. Measure out a 15 or 20-foot-long Narwhal with a tape measure and chalk. If you want to include it’s horn, you’ll need to add another 10 feet! Now lay down at one end of the narwhal and have a friend or parent mark your body length. How many of your body lengths it would take to equal the length of a Narwhal?
Make a chart to compare narwhals and unicorns. How are they alike? How they are different? For example, they both have horns. But where is the unicorn’s horn, and where is the narwhal’s?
Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by Blue Slip Media