The Curious Little Dolphin (Little Animal Adventures) (Reader's Digest Kids)

ISBN 0895774259 - Part educational, part cute story, The Curious Little Dolphin caught me by surprise and impressed me far more than I'd expected. Scooter is a curious dolphin, who'd like nothing more than to play and explore as the adults plan their trip to the warm waters of the South. His mother warns him of the dangers of sharks, but this does little to deter his curiosity. The first day after they've reached the south, Scooter and his friend, Splash, want to go exploring. Scooter's mother tells him to wait for her return, but the young dolphins disobey and find themselves in terrible danger. As a group, the other dolphins rescue the young ones and Scooter's mother hopes he's learned a lesson from his scare. The last 2 pages are filled with real dolphin facts. The story, by Ariane Chottin, is typical of the animal-as-people-like-characters stories and Chottin and adapter Patricia Jensen do a decent job making it an engaging and interesting story. Some parents might be bothered by the fact that Scooter's mother is so happy that he's safe that he doesn't get punished in any way. Other than that, it's a nice message about listening to your parents. Illustrator Oliver Raquois did a fantastic job with a pretty limited canvas - underwater is underwater, after all, but Raquois adds enough detail to give some variety and makes the images somewhat more realistic. The dolphin information in the back of the book makes this a good educational tool, too. The story is good enough to entice them and once you've gotten to the last pages, they're trapped! - AnnaLovesBooks