ALA Booklist (Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2014)

"My father and I live for the sea," begins this picture book, in which an African American girl and her father carry on a family tradition of looking for whales. Today, they take passengers out on their whale-watch boat. In the old days, their ancestors crewed ships that hunted whales. Narrated by the girl, the text on one side of each spread tells of the whale-watch boat, on which she is her father's first mate. On the facing page, she tells of life aboard a New England whaling ship perhaps 200 years ago. Each narrative line climaxes with a whale sighting, though the outcomes are very different. An interesting author's note is appended. In gouache, acrylic, and pencil artwork, Karas offers engaging illustrations of both time periods. Depicting scenes at sea and along the dock, the paintings of modern times use full color, while the related scenes set in bygone days are limited to sepia tones and black. The contrast is quite effective. A captivating and informative picture book with an intriguing dual focus.

Horn Book (Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2015)

A young African American girl narrates New England whaling history by contrasting the mission and quality of life for whalers of times past with a trip aboard her father's whale-watching ship. Karas's detailed illustrations inform flashback scenes with sepia tones while maintaining visual connections to the present day. An intriguing first introduction to whaling, with an informative author's note. Reading list, websites. Glos.

School Library Journal (Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 1-3 A young girl and her father are first mate and captain, respectively, on a family-owned whale-watching vessel, the Cuffee . She explains that prior generations of her family were whalers. From that point on, the story moves back and forth between the past and present. "Before now," the girl says, "children were taught whales were dangerous sea creatures that devoured our fish supply and were good only for their baleen and blubber." Now, passengers view pictures of the whales that they might see on daily sightseeing trips. In the old days, whalers left in the summer and hunted whales in warmer waters. Nowadays, passengers "set sailwhen the weather cools and the whales are everywhere feeding on copepods, sand lance, and krill." In the past, "this pier was lined with shops of shipbuilders, candle makers, blacksmiths, and sail makers." Today, the pier by the dock "is lined with booths that sell souvenirs, sunglasses, binoculars, and sunscreen." The book further explains the various tools whalers used, their life on board ship, and the products harvested from captured whales. Karas effectively contrasts past and present, using sepia tones for depictions of the olden times and colorful gouache and acrylic images for portrayals of current times. Endnotes include a short glossary and further information on the whaling industry and international efforts to protect whales. Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA