Review of Orcas Forever

[Leia Schramm]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Orcas Forever" by Marie-Paule Mahoney.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Orcas are known to be very social animals who live in very large families, called pods. These pods are led by matriarchs who hunt and bring back food for the whole group. Unfortunately, their species is considered to be critically endangered due to much of the population being captured and sent to aquariums all over the world. In Orcas Forever, Marie-Paule Mahoney details the life cycle of orcas while also revealing the many trials they face in light of the reduction of their population.

Orcas Forever follows the lives of a pod of orcas in the Salish Sea. The matriarchs, Sequim and Lea, lead their family on a journey to the northwest Pacific Ocean, where they will spend the winter and spring. On their journey, they hunt, protect their young, and meet up with other pods. Despite having trouble finding food at times during the endeavor, the orca mothers take time to play with their babies and make sure they eat first. The readers learn how orcas persevere through many struggles as they must travel each season to find better hunting grounds.

Overall, I loved this book and I think it is perfect for children who are more advanced readers. It is very educational and also contains beautiful illustrations. I also liked that the author wrote this story around real orcas that are being tracked and observed by scientists. It made the story of Tahlequah and her pod very unique. There is absolutely nothing I would change about this book.

I would rate this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I loved how the author describes the orca pod because it allows the readers to really care for and empathize with the characters. Marie-Paule Mahoney shares how the orcas are very similar to humans by showing the mothers feeding and playing with their children. The illustrations were also very beautiful and represented the story very well. Orcas Forever was also very well-written, and I found no errors while reading. I also appreciated the extra information at the end about how orca habitats have been affected by humans over the years. It really tied the story together with the title by asking the question, “how can we keep orcas forever?”

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Orcas Forever
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