A Dolphin Named Bob

by Twig C. George, Christine Herman Merrill (Illustrator)

With a mind of her own and a knack for creating chaos, Aster the dolphin was often the center of attention at the Aquarium. That is, until she had Bob.When he was born, Bob was a scrawny dolphin, with an unusual, comet-shaped mark on his drooping dorsal fin. Like hs mother, Bob was ornery, and he stubbornly struggled with health problems to survive. He, too, loved to jump high in the air and perform dolphin tricks. One day he jumped into more trouble than any other dolphin in the history of the Aquarium.Based on true dolphin stories, Twig C. George's warm and humorous novel is filled with dolphin antics and the pleasures of working with marine animals at an aquarium.

Genres: Middle Grade, Childrens, Science, Realistic Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Twig grew up in a family of naturalists. Her mother, Jean Craighead George, has written over one hundred children's books and pioneered the genre of scientific literature for children. Twig's father, grandfather and uncles were all biologists dedicated to the study of wildlife and ecology. In the midst of this creative, scientific family Twig and her two brothers, Craig and Luke, helped raise over 173 wild animals in their relatively normal suburban house.
Twig received her Bachelor's degree from Bennington College and a Master's in Child Development from Bank Street College of Education. She has taught young children, developed curriculum and worked as Director of Education for the Center for Marine Conservation in Washington, DC. Mother of two daughters, Katie and Rebecca, she now lives in Cockeysville, Maryland with her family and a small but select group of pets. Fortunately, her husband, David Pittenger, is Director of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The Aquarium is home to over 5,000 animals so Twig and her girls enjoy the company of many more species than they could fit in their own house.

Reviews

[Sarah D · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thin the begnning is sad because its talks about that the dolphin may die ad how it lost there mother for like 3 chapters

[Yuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book records the lives of Bob's mother Aster and Bob in the aquarium. In the story, Aster is a special dolphin that has her own characteristic. She was rescued by a group of bird-watchers on the sand dune. As a result of it, her health is always worried by Milk who is the head trainer and curator of the Aquarium's marine mammal program and Dr. Lauren, an Aquarium veterinarian. When Bob was born, he also was the skinniest, strangest-looking Atlantic bottlenose dolphin calf in Aquarium. The Aquarium staff thought Bob was alive was a miracle. Yet, he also has a similar characteristic as his mother. At the end of the story, he overcame all of the problems. In an important performance, Bob had outstanding performance and became the star of the Aquarium. The whole book describes the lives of dolphins in detail. After reading this book, I learned more information about dolphins. They have their own personalities and social group as human.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

My aunt saved this book from a freebie table at a library that was throwing out old books. The cover was all beat up and I almost passed on it myself but reminded myself to not judge a book by its cover and picked it up and started reading. Within minutes, I had my post-its out and was marking down vocab and dolphin facts because I saw the potential it had for a teacher read aloud in my upcoming 3rd grade ocean unit. I was surprised at how much I learned about dolphins after reading this book. A Dolphin Named Bob would be a great mentor text for teaching realistic fiction too. Although this book might be hard for others to find now, I'd definitely recommend it to other teachers and young readers.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some things I learned:
Twig C. George is Jean Craighead George's daughter.
This is a short, fast, straightforward read.
It's based on true events and reads as if a scientist wrote it, less like a narrative.
It would be great for a kiddo that is interested in dolphins or marine biology.

[Kristina McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my MS (5th and 6th grade) library students to teach perseverance and problem solving and they LOVED IT. I had to get more copies for my library due to the high interest.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book was very educational and it was fun to read

[Erica]

This was one of the first books my mom ever read to me as a bedtime story so it has a very special place in my heart.