Little Gray’s Great Migration

Little Gray loved his lagoon and the humans who came to visit him there. One day, Mama announces that they must swim north to a far-away sea. At first he is sad to leave his home, but Little Gray soon realizes the importance of their journey. What happens along the way and how does Little Gray help his mother? Swim along with Little Gray as he finds the way to this special, food-filled sea.

This fictional story includes a 4-page For Creative Minds section in the back of the book and a 39-page cross-curricular Teaching Activity Guide online. Little Gray’s Great Migration is vetted by experts and designed to encourage parental engagement. Its extensive back matter helps teachers with time-saving lesson ideas, provides extensions for science, math, and social studies units, and uses inquiry-based learning to help build critical thinking skills in young readers. The Spanish translation supports ELL and dual-language programs. The interactive ebook reads aloud in both English and Spanish with word highlighting and audio speed control to promote oral language skills, fluency, pronunciation, text engagement, and reading comprehension.

Written by Marta Lindsey, Illustrated by Andrea Gabriel
32 pg, 10 x 8.5, Ages 4-8, Grades K-3, Lexile: AD 540, F&P: M

Reviews:

Lindsey weaves whale facts into the journey, describing the sounds they use to communicate and various food sources. - Kirkus Reviews

This is the story of Little Gray, a whale calf who must follow his mother from the small lagoon to the larger sea. At first, Little Gray resists leaving his familiar home, but he soon acclimates to the sea and the riches it provides. - Library Media Connection

While the story is fiction, the information is factual and back matter provides an in-depth look at different aspects of whale behavior. - Ithaca Child Magazine

Author/Illustrator Info:

Marta Lindsey has a degree in environmental science and is a volunteer at Point Reyes National Seashore, a popular place to see gray whales on their annual migration along the Pacific coast. Marta's time spent whale-watching, made her wonder what it would be like to swim thousands of miles, especially if you were just a few months old? Marta hopes this story will inspire readers to learn about gray whales, go whale-watching themselves, and help whale conservation efforts worldwide. Marta lives in San Francisco with her husband, Drew, and their daughter, Helena. Little Gray's Great Migration is her debut picture book.

Award-winning artist Andrea Gabriel has worked as a professional illustrator for the past fifteen years. In addition to Been There, Done That: Reading Animal Signs and Little Gray's Great Migration for Arbordale, some of Andrea's other illustrated works include Where Do I Sleep? and Eaglet's World. Andrea is the author and illustrator of Wandering Woolly> and My Favorite Bear. Andrea lives in Bellingham, Washington with her family of two-and four-legged creatures. Visit her website at bigbearillustration.com