  | Twelve daring grays : a whale migration adventure Author: Nickum, Nora | |
| Price: $23.28 | ||
Summary:
Follow a dozen brave gray whales in search of food as they take a high-risk, high-reward 170-mile detour off their already grueling migration route to the Arctic.
| Illustrator: | MacKay, Elly |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (12/01/25)
School Library Journal (+) (09/19/25)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/12/25)
Full Text Reviews:
School Library Journal - 09/19/2025 PreS-Gr 2—Following 12 gray whales as they break off from the rest of the pod during the migration from California to the Arctic, this nonfiction picture book is a stunning work that focuses on the bravery of the group that splits off. Nickum's poetry conveys the story beautifully and focuses on how the detour is risky and rewarding. With vibrant, mixed-media illustrations, MacKay depicts the lengthy journey and changing settings through a shifting range of shades, mostly pastels. Detailed back matter provides additional information on the gray whale migration, the detour to Puget Sound, and where to find more information. VERDICT For nonfiction that elicits an emotional investment from readers, this is an excellent purchase for all libraries.—Kelcy Davis - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
Other - 11/24/2025 Dramatic verse narrates the expedition of a dozen gray whales who take an alternate migration route in an illuminating picture book from Nickum (This Book Is Full of Holes) and MacKay (The Bunny Ballet). The wide-eyed account opens in February as more than 20,000 gray whales depart Baja, Calif., beginning "a long, hard,/ necessary journey." Among this group, 12 have a "daring plan"-while the others continue their two-month-plus trip north to the Arctic, the featured dozen "peel off,/ one by one," to head elsewhere. Vivid imagery describes their 170-mile detour to the Salish Sea, a water body in British Columbia and Washington State. Venturing "past rocks as barnacled as their skin," they arrive at a shallowly submerged mudflat where they risk getting stuck to scrape the floor for "millions of ghost shrimp./ A hurried,/ exhilarating feast" that helps them grow strong enough to continue northward. Photographs of cut paper and mixed-media scenes have a luminous, diorama-like depth that immerses readers in the subjects’ natural habitats. Eventually, the intrepid shrimp-eaters catch up with their fellow cetaceans, and prose comes full circle, asking whether a new generation will be among those who make the detour in this wonder-filled portrait of adapting mammals. A note, "Dining with Grays," concludes. Ages 5-8. Author’s agent: Lynnette Novak, Seymour Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary. (Feb.) - Copyright 2025
