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The Story of Three Whales
Story of Three Whales, A True Adventure by Whittell, Giles. 8vo.
28 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
About the author
Giles Whittell
14 books40 followersGiles Quintin Sykes Whittell (born 1966)[1][2] is an English author and journalist who has worked for The Times as Correspondent in Russia and the United States.
Whittell was educated at Sherborne School[2] and Christ's College, Cambridge (B.A. 1988).[3] He has worked for The Times of London since 1993, first as US West Coast Correspondent from 1993 to 1999 and later as Moscow Correspondent (1999–2001) and Washington Bureau Chief (2009–2011). As of 2019 he is the paper's chief leader writer.[4]
His books [5] include Lambada Country (1992), Extreme Continental (1994), Spitfire Women of World War II (2007) and Bridge of Spies, a New York Times bestselling account of the Cold War spy swap between Rudolf Abel, Gary Powers and Frederic Pryor on Berlin's Glienicke Bridge in 1962. The book was published in the US in 2010 and the United Kingdom in 2011.[6]
Whittell was educated at Sherborne School[2] and Christ's College, Cambridge (B.A. 1988).[3] He has worked for The Times of London since 1993, first as US West Coast Correspondent from 1993 to 1999 and later as Moscow Correspondent (1999–2001) and Washington Bureau Chief (2009–2011). As of 2019 he is the paper's chief leader writer.[4]
His books [5] include Lambada Country (1992), Extreme Continental (1994), Spitfire Women of World War II (2007) and Bridge of Spies, a New York Times bestselling account of the Cold War spy swap between Rudolf Abel, Gary Powers and Frederic Pryor on Berlin's Glienicke Bridge in 1962. The book was published in the US in 2010 and the United Kingdom in 2011.[6]
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 20, 2019
Just beautiful.
May 12, 2011
This is a book from my childhood, but its story is timeless and it retains its educational value. Three Whales is the true story of a small pod of gray whales who became trapped under the thick, unforgiving Arctic ice in the late 1980s. A multi-national team assembled to break the ice and free the hapless animals.
Three Whales is a wonderful humane resource for several reasons. Early in the story, we learn that the Inuit who originally spotted the whales expected that they would die; it was not until the story was picked up by the international news media that the call to free the whales was raised. This raises the ideal of not giving up in the face of adversity, as well as the vast import of the media to bring attention to animal welfare issues. The fact that team workers of several nations put their differences aside to break the ice is a wonderful lesson in tolerance and the benefit of mutually working together toward a positive outcome. Of interest is the fact that the Russians, whose huge ice-breaking ship finally freed the animals, had a longstanding commercial whaling industry. Why these whales? Can traditions change? Also good discussion points for older students.
The story of these trapped gray whales is testament to the ways in which compassion and team work makes a better world for all of us. However, my one concern with this book rests with the rather dull and uninteresting illustrations. If Whales were to be reprinted today, no doubt some more vibrant color drawings would be used.
Three Whales is a wonderful humane resource for several reasons. Early in the story, we learn that the Inuit who originally spotted the whales expected that they would die; it was not until the story was picked up by the international news media that the call to free the whales was raised. This raises the ideal of not giving up in the face of adversity, as well as the vast import of the media to bring attention to animal welfare issues. The fact that team workers of several nations put their differences aside to break the ice is a wonderful lesson in tolerance and the benefit of mutually working together toward a positive outcome. Of interest is the fact that the Russians, whose huge ice-breaking ship finally freed the animals, had a longstanding commercial whaling industry. Why these whales? Can traditions change? Also good discussion points for older students.
The story of these trapped gray whales is testament to the ways in which compassion and team work makes a better world for all of us. However, my one concern with this book rests with the rather dull and uninteresting illustrations. If Whales were to be reprinted today, no doubt some more vibrant color drawings would be used.
September 28, 2010
I'd say between 3 and 4 stars. Very well done illustrations, and the text is almost as a newspaper article. I had no idea it was a children's book, and it's good to expose children to real life stories as well, I believe
July 30, 2014
Well written for younger students.
June 3, 2016
"I was happy that they got the whales out, but sad that the baby whale died."
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews