Tangled in the Bay: The Story of a Baby Right Whale

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is also the
author of The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek, and
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Hom

Tangled in the Bay is first in the Natural Heroes Series, which are
books for children that explore the real-life situations faced by human
rescuers of endangered species. Species extinction was formerly rare.
Today, the hideous number is approaching several species per day. The
work of scientists, naturalists, and ordinary people who are devoting
themselves to such rescues is the stuff of high drama and strong
emotions.

Right whales are an endangered species. Tangled in the Bay traces the
successful rescue of Pasha, a baby right whale photographed and tagged
six months earlier off Florida and now caught in the Bay of Fundy in a
fishing net. Two men—the pilot of a small sea plane and his passenger,
the first-person narrator—discover her and radio for help. The rescue
is delayed by a fearful overnight storm, and a greatly weakened Pasha is
rescued just in time. Pasha and her mother, who has never left her
baby’s side, swim slowly away. This adventure tale is beautifully
told.

Jeffrey Domm’s powerful illustrations convey all the drama, suspense,
and emotion of the story. Dark shades of green, blue, and purple reflect
the various moods of the sea and of the events. Two pages of technical
and scientific information at the end of the book alert young readers to
the history, habits, and problems of the right whale. Highly
recommended.