  | Spirit of Springer : the real-life rescue of an orphaned orca Author: Abler, Amanda | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
A heart-warming and true story about an orphaned orca named Springer who was found swimming alone in the Puget Sound in 2002. The book takes us on Springer's journey from being near starvation to rescued to the challenges of her release, eventual adoption, and the start of her own family.
| Illustrator: | Hastings, Levi |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 5.30 Points: .5 Quiz: 511633 |
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 12/01/2019 In this compelling true story, a team of scientists tries to help an orphaned orca calf discovered off the coast of Seattle. Using photo records and sound recordings (orca pods have distinct dialects!), they were able to identify her as Springer, a two-year-old from a pod living further north, near Canada’s Vancouver Island. Over the course of Springer’s engrossing tale, she goes from sick, starving, and lonely to healthy, happy, and reunited with her family. The monumental efforts of the scientists—hailing from both the U.S. and Canada—and the great love they have for the young orca are inspiring to read about and provide great models of empathy. The illustrations have a charming vintage vibe that works well with this timeless story. Appended information allows readers to see how Springer was doing as recently as 2017 (15 years after her rescue), how scientists organize her family tree, and other facts and resources. An accessible and educational animal-rescue story. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 02/01/2020 Gr 2–5—This narrative nonfiction book documents the work of American and Canadian researchers who rescued an orca named Springer and returned her to health, releasing her back into Canadian waters. Orca whales ordinarily swim in pods; parents and children are together all their lives. One day in 2002 a single orca calf emerged from the waves of Puget Sound. A ferry worker who saw the event informed whale experts, who determined from her dialect and markings that this calf was sick, starving, and over 300 miles from home. The book follows Springer as she relearns how to eat, figures out how to heal her own skin, finds her family members, and reestablishes her life in the wild. It also credits the First Nations people who helped to welcome her home. The simple, precise language encourages readers to follow the story's twists and turns and invest in its happy outcome. The realistic but playful illustrations convey emotion as well as fact. Post-narrative pages provide additional scientific information about Springer, orcas in general, and the environment in which orcas live. VERDICT This book is a delightful find for STEM enthusiasts and also for kids who just like a good story.—Sheri Reda, Wilmette Public Library, IL - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
