True Blue Friend, the newest addition to the series, introduces kids to the world of whales

Webs to Whales Nature Tales Combines Technology with Literature to Get Kids Excited about Science

PACIFIC GROVE, CALIF. (January, 2006)”Look, there’s a spout!” The gray whales, as many as 150 a day, are now migrating past Monterey Bay on their way to breeding grounds in Baja. If you watch carefully from the shore, you can see sudden bursts of spray as they surface for air. On the east coast,the endangered North Atlantic right whales are migrating to the warm waters off Florida. Ship collisions pose a major threat to the right whales, so a network of volunteer whale spotters alerts the Navy and Coast Guard as the whales are spotted.

Whales also face the danger of entanglement in fishing nets and equipment. A study released by the World Wildlife Fund in 2003 estimated nearly 1000 whales, dolphins, and porpoises drown in fishing nets daily. True Blue Friend, available March, 2006, brings the issue to life when a young humpback whale’s curiosity gets him in trouble. His friendship with an old blue whale brings a happy ending to the tale.

Combining literature with technology, each book includes an interactive CD-ROM that teaches the science behind the story. Through a series of narrated, interactive lessons using actual photos, kids compare the anatomy of a whale and a fish, and learn about different types of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Video clips demonstrate common humpback behaviors. A physics lesson related to the animal is included on each CD; on the True Blue Friend CD, kids learn about echolation. The narrated lessons are enhanced with printable activities in reading, math, and science that bring the kids back to paper/pencil and hands-on learning. The software is intended as a tool to encourage kids to learn more about whales and ocean conservation.

About Block Publishing
Block Publishing is an educational publisher of supplemental materials focusing on science literacy. Our motto is “Building a foundation for learning one block at a time.” Our goal is to build students’ basic skills while encouraging an interest and love for science. Science is a subject that involves all areas of learning: math, reading, social studies, critical thinking and problem solving. Yet science has become a subject that is often overlooked in the curriculum. We hope to change that by incorporating basic skills into science units that gives parents and teachers all the tools they need for teaching each topic.

PDF version of this Media Release (452kb)

True Blue Web Site

Other True Blue Materials

• True Blue Product Sheet (396Kb PDF file)
• True Blue Book Cover (788Kb PDF file)
• Webs To Whales Nature Tales Product Sheet (540Kb PDF file)
• Block Publishing Bios (104kb PDF file)

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