From shapes and baby animals to students in space, fiction and non-fiction Dolphins capture imaginations. With activities for every page of reading, the stimulating 'read and do' approach engages learners, practises language, and encourages critical-thinking skills.

This is the follow up to my first book Autonomous Sun On The Platypus River: Thoughts For Walks. Written by a version of myself that feels better than the version who wrote the first book.

The North Atlantic and its adjacent waters are among the most dangerous in the world. Countless shipwrecks speak for a rough ocean. And yet, these seas are rich in wildlife like playful dolphins and colorful puffins. Ignoring the hazards and curiously, almost obsessed by sailing the European Atlantic, George and his wife cast-off in the Baltic to an open-end adventure. They sailed to Norway, Scotland, the Hebrides, the Iberian peninsular and promptly fell in love with these countries and their people. The nature in Norway is breathtaking, wildlife on the Hebrides stunning, Scotland is divine, the beer in Dublin is cold, and the sun nearly always shines in southern Europe. With autumn approaching, the Atlantic Ocean faced its first hurricane on the European side in history and underlined its reputation. The crew took it easy and saw what they hoped to see and much more. Then a virus came along, silently, mysteriously, and ruined all travel plans. Relaxing with each day passing by, the crew realized, live and perceive the moment.

With longer words and sentences, varied language patterns, and full-spread illustration-enhanced photographs, progressing readers learn about the bottlenose dolphin's life cycle and eating habits. Children who are practicing common words and letter sounds will build confidence as they recognize familiar words and expand their vocabulary. Aligned to Common Core standards and correlated to state standards. Magic Readers is an imprint of Magic Wagon, a division of ABDO.

How intelligent are dolphins? Is their communication system really as complex as human language? And are they as friendly and peaceful as they are made out to be? The Western world has had an enduring love affair with dolphins since the early 1960s, with fanciful claims of their 'healing powers' and 'super intelligence'. Myths and pseudoscience abound on the subject. Justin Gregg weighs up the claims made about dolphin intelligence and separates scientific fact from fiction. He puts our knowledge about dolphin behaviour and intelligence into perspective, with comparisons to scientific studies of other animals, especially the crow family and great apes. He gives fascinating accounts of the challenges of testing what an animal with flippers and no facial expressions might be animal behaviour, Gregg challenges many of the widespread beliefs about dolphins, while also inspiring the reader with the remarkable abilities common to many of the less glamorized animals around us - such as chickens.

Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic.