Pete Puffin's Wild Ride: Cruising Alaska's Currents

By Libby Hatton

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0930931920
• ISBN13: 9780930931926
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Alaska Geographic Association
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

True story

This is a review, not about the book, but about the event. I don't know about the rubber ducky in Maine, but certainly, the ones in the NW US and Canada were true. In addition to bath toys, at about the same time, a container of Nike sneakers fell overboard and broke open and shoes were dispersed along beaches in the same area. Swap meets were organized so people could pair "lefts" and "rights". I taught middle school science and used the two events to teach about ocean currents. Pete is doing the same thing. The events were reported in science journals.

Painless understanding of ocean currents

In 1992 beachcombers along the coast of Alaska were startled to find new bathtub toys dotting the beach. That made for amusing stories about bathers and rubber duckies. After it was discovered beaches in Russia's Far East, Canada, and Washington State were also new homes for the toys, at least one scientist had a great idea. The toys were from a container lost overboard from a freighter during a storm. The location of these could help with the study of ocean currents, always of interest. An appeal went out for finders to report their goodies, and many did so. After twelve years, in 2003, one was found off the coast of Maine. All that said, the author decided to write a book for 5-to-7-year-olds that would explain something about these ocean currents. So Pete Puffin, the wooden toy carried to Alaska for a cruise by his young owner, falls overboard and after a series of adventures (interesting but not too scary) winds up back home in Maine. Hatton also had a brilliant idea. Detachable postcards with appropriate messages decorate most pages. the colors are bright, the chain of life from algae to puffins and beyond is clear but most attractive, and Pete's map of his adventures easy to follow. Overall, this book is a clear winner. The grown-ups in the house might want to read this aloud, thus happily concealing the fact they're learning a great deal about ocean currents and creatures of the northern seas while instructing the children. The publisher will be giving away a copy to Alaska's schools and public libraries, but it would be cool to buy your own. Why not buy two and give one to a friend? Dee Longenbaugh