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Title: Thar She Blows! Whaling in the 1860's (Smithsonian Odyssey) by Sue Kassirer, Pat Fridell ISBN: 1-56899-507-5 Publisher: Soundprints Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95

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Average Customer Rating: 3.5 (2 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: Wake up and get a clue
Comment: It has been said about this book that "if you want to teach your children to be utterly indifferent to the suffering of non-human beings, this would be a good book for you." What narrow-minded, politically-correct, thought-police drivel! This book only tries to tell children about the golden age of 19th century whaling by placing them within that era. The people of those times hunted whales out of necessity (the need for whale oil for lamps), not because they were somehow morally deficient. Whalemen of those days were very much aware that "whales (were) highly intelligent, social creatures"... if you doubt this then read Moby Dick. This book is a good introduction for children about those times and nothing more.

Rating: 2
Summary: Visually impressive, but morally questionable
Comment: "Thar She Blows!" tells the story of Emma, a contemporary girl visiting the Whaling Exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. While telling some friends a story about an ancestor of hers who was a harpooner on a whaling ship back in the 1840s, Emma is magically transported back in time and actually takes part in a whale hunt.

Pat Fridell's color illustrations effectively complement the text by Sue Kassirer. The book also contains a short but informative article on the history of American whaling, as well as a useful glossary.

The big problem with this book, however, is its failure to deal with the moral issues surrounding the whaling industry. Today we know that whales are highly intelligent, social creatures. Many species of whales were pushed to the edge of extinction by excessive human hunting.

But "Thar She Blows" shows not a trace of compassion for the whales being hunted and slaughtered by the book's heroine and her shipmates. The text includes a gruesome, but emotionally detached description of a dead whale's body being cut up (fortunately, there is no accompanying picture).

I suppose if you want to teach your children to be utterly indifferent to the suffering of non-human beings, this would be a good book for you. But for those of us who want to raise our children as compassionate and morally aware beings, this book is very troublesome... If your child reads "Thar She Blows!" for its educational value, be sure to discuss with her the ethical issues which this book so callously ignores.