"Crystal".....

"Crystal"

Crystal: The Story of a Real Baby Whale

"Winter"

"In early January, many places in the world have snow on the ground, and the water is cold and frozen into ice. But in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean there is a place where it never snows or freezes, and there is summer weather all year round.

And here a humpback whale is born.

Bright sun rays slanting in the warm, clear, sound-filled water greeted the baby whale, whose name is Crystal. For nearly a year he grew inside his mother, and now he is suddenly free, as if in an endless bathtub. Gently Salt, his mother, pushes him to the surface to take his first breath.

Inhale-and whoosh, a misty little exhale! A new whale's life begins."

The above is taken from the first page of Crystal: The Story of a Real Baby Whale written by Karen Smyth. Karen is working with WhaleNet to help develop and refine material, especially for the K-5 grades.

Crystal and Salt
Picture of Salt and Crystal

"Karen Smyth & Friend"

Karen Smyth spends five months each year as a senior naturalist on whale-watching excursions out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Author of "Crystal: The Story of a Real Baby Whale" and a teacher also, she began contributing to cetacean research in 1980, the year Crystal was born.

If you want more infomation about the book or Karen's in-school educational programs and teacher workshops, you can contact her at
Karen Smyth at karen.smyth2@verizon.net

Salt	Crystal

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