The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales

Successfully Walks the Line

This is an ambitious book. On the one hand we want to have a thrilling undersea adventure; on the other hand we see an honest effort to include substantial educational content. I was impressed, and thought the book worked well on both levels.

Wisely, the whole "Secret Explorers" angle is set up quickly. Whenever there's a science emergency a call goes out to the "Secret Explorers", who then drop whatever they're doing and gather at an Exploration Station. From there a team of kids with appropriate skills is selected and sent out with necessary tools and equipment. So, by chapter Two Connor and Roshni have been kitted out, briefed, and sent off on their mission.

The particular mission here is to head to the South Pacific and reorient a lost pod of humpback whales. Of course, nothing is ever that easy, so we have lost whales, a misplaced whale calf, some collisions with shipping, and so on. The kids are in a submarine that has cool sciencey stuff and have to do a lot of figuring out and problem solving. What we end up with is a tour of various deep sea and open ocean life, a lot of facts about whales, and an honest shot of wonder about these neat mammals. We also get some reasonable discussions of things like sonar and sat-nav and even star navigation. The kids have to make a lot of decisions and have to mostly reason their way out of or around problems, so the scientific method angle is mostly legit, even if some of the solutions are a bit unrealistic.

This isn't at a "Paw Patrol" level. There is decent information here. It's all a little cartoony and unbelievable, but it seems to fit in that sweet spot where you have a reader who's too old for fuzzy bunnies but not really ready for the harder stuff. And by gosh it's all very cheerful, energetic, upbeat, and gee-whiz, which seems to me like the right way to go with early STEM stories. I was impressed by the project, and delighted to see this is the first in a planned series.

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

From the point of view of my six year old boy: This book was amazing! From the point of view of his mom, me: This was a great fiction title that wove lots of non-fiction ocean facts into the story! We partner read, each taking turns to read as the book was above his current reading level. My son adored the characters and can't wait to read more in the series. A home run in our house!

Even though I had not read others in this series, it was easy to get the idea and I did not feel I was missing too much. The story was engaging and moved at a good pace, with lots of science facts and information liberally sprinkled through. Not a lot of character development, but it wasn't necessary as the story seemed more plot driven than character driven. I liked that there are multiple characters of color represented. Some of the science words and concepts may be a bit much for younger readers, but there are lots of good facts and information in the back, including a glossary. This series seems to be a fun, engaging read for science-minded kids.

Connor loves the water and marine creatures. He is called for a secret mission to help the whales get back on track to the South. This book was fun and informational. A great mid level chapter book for kids.

My son, Connor, loved this book! I would say having a character named Connor helped!

Connor teams up with Roshni to save a group of humpback whales. Throughout their adventure they run into some roadblocks but work together to solve their problems.

This book had great illustrations, amazing lessons of teamwork and being a helper, allowing kids to learn as they read about underwater creatures and habitats.