Life after Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall

When a ninety-year-old blue whale dies in the Pacific Ocean, her story is far from over. Her body floats, then slowly sinks to the dark sea floor, where over the next century and more it feeds and shelters a parade of living things, from sharks and seabirds to crabs, clams and worms that settle on the bones. Lynn Brunelle, a writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy, explains each stage of this process, known as a whale fall, in clear and poetic language, and Caldecott Medalist Jason Chin's detailed watercolors, maps and cross-sections show it unfolding. Back matter covers blue whales and deep-sea ecosystems. The book won the 2025 Sibert Medal and was an Orbis Pictus honor book.