Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff

Heart-Warming. Resilience. Tears of Joy. 
Beautifully-told. Brave.

Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again
Written by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff.

Published by Scholastic, Inc. 2009.

From Booklist
Hatkoff and his daughters continue their nonfiction series (Owen & Mzee, 2006; Knut, 2007) highlighting animals that overcome adversity. Here they follow a baby Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin that lost her tail after becoming entangled in a crab trap. Rescued by Florida wildlife conservationists, she was nursed back to health and later fitted with an artificial tail. The main narrative is informal and conversational, well suited to a younger audience. Readers learn about Winter’s improvised, tail-free swimming techniques and how trainers helped her to adjust to the new device. An afterword provides further information about the Clearwater Marine Aquarium (where Winter lives), dolphins and their training, and Kevin Carroll, whose company developed the prosthetic tail. Most of the photographs are crisp and clear, depicting Winter’s dramatic rescue and several training routines. Designed for a dual audience (animal lovers and humans who have overcome physical adversity), this will make an inspirational choice for browsers. For another look at dolphins in captivity, point readers to Twig C. George’s A Dolphin Named Bob (1996). Grades 1-3. --Kay Weisman

“Readers will be most drawn to Winter's resilience and the dedication and ingenuity of those helping her.” – Publishers Weekly

“The story offers an important message of hope, friendship and universal acceptance.” – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Awarded the Junior Library Guild Selection, 2009

Told by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff, this true story of a precious and enthusiastic dolphin, later named Winter, has brought warmth, tears of joy, and strength to all families throughout the nation. Winter's story has impacted many families and how they look at life. When they see this triumphant dolphin fight to live every moment and adapt to different situations, they believe that they are resilient and courageous like Winter as well.

Set during a cold, winter Saturday morning in December of 2005, Jim Savage, a fishermen at Mosquito Lagoon located in the east coast of Florida, saw something that did not seem right in the water. What he saw was a baby dolphin that was being suffocated in crab traps, destroying the the poor baby dolphin's mouth and tail. Shocked by this endangerment, Savage cuts the baby dolphin free and immediately calls Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to rescue and protect this baby dolphin's life. Later named Winter, she is brought to her new home at Clearwater Marine Aquarium where a professionally trained staff would do all they can to help Winter because her tail had been severely injured by crab nets and unfortunately lost her tail which prevents her to swim properly. However, there is still hope of giving Winter the life that she originally would wanted. With the advancement of technology and her huge support group, she is able to swim everyday with her new, amazing tail.

Extras: Readers will be able to follow Winter's journey, from the fascinating photographs that are depicted through the novel, from the day Jim Savage found her in Mosquito Lagoon to her new home at Clearwater Marine Aquarium where she has the ability to swim again with her brand new tail. Readers will also be able to read an author's note that describes where they have received their photographs and how thankful they are to be able to have these visuals throughout the novel to share Winter's story. The book also includes a brief letter from the author's of the story describing other amazing true events where many animals such as a baby polar bear named Knut and a baby mountain gorilla named Miza, who are being rescued and protected by a group of caring and loving people, and a brief summary of Winter's adventure. Toward the end of the book, there are brief descriptions and visuals of Winter's rescue location to her new home, information about the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the different types of dolphins, how one trains dolphins, and Kevin Carroll and Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics, the group of creators that helped develop Winter's prosthetic tail, which allows her to swim and to prevent spinal injuries.

Literary Genre: Nonfiction, Health

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 930L, Grade 5/6

Suggested Delivery: Read Aloud or Independent Read
ISBN-13: 978-0545123358

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Teachers... Here are some resources to help 

you teach Winter's Tail: How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again!

Electronic Resources:

Winter's Tail Official Website - This link is an interactive website for students especially as a way to set a purpose for reading. Teachers can have students view this link before reading also as a way to increase their prior knowledge. The wonderful link includes an incredible amount of information about Winter the dolphin, such as Winter in the media, pictures, fun games and activities, videos, sing-a-long, make a video, interesting facts about dolphins, and links to other animals that were endangered and/or rescued!

Scholastic: Meet Winter the Dolphin - This link is also another interactive website for students and teachers. It provides a short webcast that highlights the movie Winter's Tail. Not only does it include fun student activities and resources, but it also provides teachers different types of lesson plans and printables, links to other rescued animals, videos, information about marine biology, and many more. Great for students and teachers to view before and during reading, as a way to set a purpose for reading and to increase student's prior knowledge.

Hanger, Inc. Prosthetics - Hanger, Inc. Prosthetics plays an important role in Winter's life as it gives her hope to swim again. Kevin Carroll, who works for this company, was heavily involved in designing Winter's new tail and the engineering of this tail has created wonders and more to come with this type of technology. This website is great for students and teachers to observe together as it is a discussed concept in the story. Students and teachers are able to read success stories of people who are able to have their life again because of this important invention. Great to view before, during, or after reading.

Youtube: Winter's Tail - Watch a short video of Winter doing tricks and her swimming in the water with her new tail. Also, Winter's trainer talks about how they place and what they must do before they put her tail on: the proper procedure. Great to use after reading so that students are able to visually see who Winter is and see how she swims with her new tail.

Kids Zone: See Winter - This link is another great resource for students to view if they would like to know more about Winter the dolphin. The website is directly for students and it provides games, coloring pages, environmental tips, student resources, information about careers in marine science, Winter's FAQ, how to visit or meet Winter and many more. Great for students to review before, during, or after reading.

Basic Facts about Dolphins - This link provides basic facts about dolphins and how they live throughout their daily lives. Provides information about the different types of dolphins, behaviors, size, diet, where dolphins are predominately located, and many more. Great way to introduce to students what they will be reading about.

Key Vocabulary: thrive, idled, coraralled, ordeal, fleshy, stump, coaxes, handlers, unfazed, companion, protheses, peduncle, silicone, resilience

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text in Science to develop an understanding about marine biology and what a marine biologist does.
• Use this text in Science to teach about the oceanic ecosystem and the different types of mammals that live in the ocean.
2. Use this text in Environmental Science to educate about the environmental issues that occur in the ocean, who causes these issues, and how one may advocate safe environmental practices.
• Use this text to build communication and reading and language arts skills by debating environmental issues.
3. Use this text in Mathematics to measure the distance from Winter's rescue area, Mosquito Lagoon to her new home in Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
4. Use this text in Geography to explore the different marks under the sea, i.e. mountains, sea level, canyons.

Comprehension Strategies:

• Before Reading: 

• A great way to initiate and to set a purpose for reading is to introduce to students what a disability is. Ask students what they believe the word disability means and to write their descriptions/answers on the board. Discuss with students that there are many types of disabilities and that they will be reading about a dolphin who has a disability. After the discussion, continue with this mini-acitivity, which is to have students choose from a bowl. In the bowl, teachers will write down different types of disabilities, such as vision impaired, hearing impaired, etc. If students do not know the disability that they have on their piece of paper, explain to them what it means. After each student chooses, have students do an activity while they have the disability. Do the activity for approximately 15 minutes. After the activity, discuss with students how they felt when they had this challenge given to them. How did they feel after completing the activity? How do other people who actually have these types of disabilities feel? Have students make text-to-self connections to see if they have any experiences of people, such as their friends or family who have disabilities, not only limited to physical, but also social and emotional. Although this topic may be sensitive to students who may have disabilities, it is still a great way for students to discuss and to be aware of this topic as it is part of life. Also, it allows students to use their prior knowledge and to be more interested in the reading.
• For example, one can relate this topic to the Special Olympics, Paralympics, prosthetic technology, War veterans, etc.
• During Reading: 
• Provide students a set of discussion questions that will evaluate their comprehension after they read. These questions will promote student to use text-to-self connections, their schema, or their literal comprehension to develop an comprehensible answer for these questions. If you choose to read this story aloud, pause and ask these questions to students. 
• Some examples of these questions include:
• What caused Winter to lose her tail?
• After Winter's settled in her new home at Clearwater Marine Aquarium, what was her swimming style? How did this impact her performance in swimming? Did it improve or impair her?
• How do normal dolphin's swim and why?
• Why was Panama not willing to befriend Winter at first?
• In your opinion, do you think Winter will ever be able to swim out in the ocean again?
• How do you think Winter's struggle and challenges relate to families who also deal with conflicts every day? How has Winter improvement and strength influence these families?
• After Reading: 
• Have students watch the movie Dolphin Tale, which stars Winter's journey. After they finish the movie, have students compare and contrasts the events from the movie to the events in the story. Are the events in the movie different from the events in the book or are they similar? Was the main idea of the movie same as the main idea in the story? Was the sequence the same? How true was the movie to the book? Have students use a Venn Diagram or a T-chart to complete this activity.

Student Writing Activity:

• Prosthetic technology is advancing every moment and giving people their lives back. People who unfortunately receive amputations possibly are able to walk, move, and run again because of prosthetic technology. In Winter's situation, the generation of prosthetic technology moved from humans to animals, which is significant. Kevin Carroll, the creator of Winter's tail, was able to figure out how to make a tail that would allow Winter to swim normally like other Dolphin's without preventing any discomfort or injury. Have students write a letter to Kevin Carroll asking him what he will do next or what he will create for possibly other circumstances. How does this technology affect the future? What or who inspired him to build such a creation that may have been difficult to produce? Ask students if they would thank him for creating such a product that has helped a fellow friend have life again.
• The reason why Winter's tail was unfortunately damaged was because of crab nets that suffocated her. Discuss with other students that there are also devastating pollution that affects the aquatic lifestyle, i.e. soda cans plastic that are left in the ocean and oil spills. Have students research the material and how they could prevent such disasters or pollutions from occurring. Then have students write an expository letter persuading to the community, to their friends, or to the Wildlife Conservation Commission why it is important to put more support in rescuing and protecting mammals that are endangered and to advocate methods to decrease pollution in animals habitats. Possibly ask students what they would do in their own daily life to decrease some sort of pollution, i.e. recycling, reusing, or reducing items that they use. Have students write this portion in a student journal.

Hatkoff, J., Hatkoff, I., & Hatkoff, C. (2009). Winter's tail: how one little dolphin learned to swim again. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Animal Rescue Team: Gator on the Loose!

Animal Lovers. Adventurous. One Big Happy Family. 
Full of Laughter. Brotherly Love.

Animal Rescue Team: Gator on the Loose!

Written by Sue Stauffacher. Illustrated by Priscilla Lamont.

Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.

From School Library Journal
Gr 4-6–These stories detail the exploits of 10-year-old Keisha Carter's family as wildlife rehabilitators in Michigan. In the first title, they rescue a wandering alligator from the city pool. The creature gets lost one more time, and a frantic search ensues before it is finally transported to an alligator sanctuary. In Special Delivery, they rescue a wayward skunk, a baby crow, and an injured dog. Though the cast of animal characters is different in each book, certain themes persist. Readers will learn that it is important to treat wildlife appropriately and that each animal is different in terms of how one should interact with it. Another mainstay is the abundance of cozy, safe family moments, and the fact that each scenario draws to a realistic–yet gentle–conclusion. Cheerful cartoon illustrations highlight the overall snug and secure feeling. The books don't necessarily challenge readers emotionally, but they are solid nonetheless and will find an audience Jwith animal lovers and those who enjoy mellow realistic fiction.Amy Holland, Hamlin Public Library, Rochester, NY
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"Situational comedy, appealing spot art, and a personable protagonist will give this series broad appeal."
-Booklist

"Take one appealing family, add a fashion-crazy grandmother, mix with one abandoned alligator, and you have the first in a promising new series for middle-grade readers." -The Horn Book Magazine

"An excellent family or classroom readaloud, and kids (and adults) who join the Carter team will eagerly await their next adventure." -The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Grand Rapids resident Sue Stauffacher knows her audience. She gets that young readers love animals, adventure and lots of action. She gets that parents and teachers are looking for stories that broaden children’s understanding of family and the world. All those things come together on Stauffacher’s new Animal Rescue Team series." -The Grand Rapids Press

It's Memorial Day Weekend in Algar Heights, Michigan and you know what happens on this holiday weekend, the swimming pools are finally open to the public. Keisha Carter is ready to practice her cannonball jump into the pool, until suddenly there has been a call from Mr. Ramsey, the owner of the city's pool, telling her that there is a baby alligator in the pool. The Zoo is closed... Animal Rescue is closed... which only leads to Keisha's family... Keisha's family is not any ordinary family, but the Carter's Urban Rescue family who helps rescues any wild animal that is in danger and that does not belong in a certain habitat.  In this case, this alligator does not belong in this swimming pool or in Michigan because of its cold winters. However, the Carter's Urban Rescue, with the help of the Z-Team and Mr. Malone, will do whatever it takes to protect Pumpkin-Petunia and to give him the nurture he needs, like their motto..."Whatever the dilemma, if it's got fur or feathers (or scales!) The Carters are the ones to call" (Stauffacher, front cover).

Extras: If students are delighted when reading Sue Stauffacher's Gator on the Loose, they should love the other Animal Rescue Team books. As you may not know, Gator on the Loose is part of the Animal Rescue Team book series, which includes hiliarous adventures with the Carter family. A list of the books are located in the story. The book also includes fun facts, an author's note to readers on how she was inspired to write this book and acknowledgments to people who aspired her to write.

Literary Genre: Realistic Fiction & Literature, Animals, Humor, Juvenile, Series

Reading Level: Lexile Framework 740L, Grade 4

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read or Small Group Read
ISBN-13: 978-0375858475

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Teachers... Here are some resources to help 

you teach Animal Rescue Team: Gator on the Loose!

Sue Stauffacher, the Author

Electronic Resources:

Author's Site: Sue Stauffacher - This link provides information about the author and how she became the writer she is today. This source also includes a variety of books that the author written, including a link to her new book, contact information and how you could possibly have her visit your school, and a blog site. The author also includes additional teaching resources such as teaching suggestions, book reviews, videos, and many more for the books she wrote as well. Great to review before or during reading as a way to interest and engage students.

Random House: Sue Stauffacher - This link provides information about Mary Jane Auch and how she was inspired to write the Animal Rescue Team Book Series. Great to review before reading!

National Wildlife Federation - This link is an amazing resource that advocates wilderness conservation, protect animals habitats, to decrease the effects of global warming, become more -friendly and many more. The website also includes photos, videos, articles and fun kid games! Great for students who are animal and nature fanatics! Also great to engage students who are new to this topic!

National Geographic: Facts about American Alligators or Smithsonian National Zoological Park: American Alligator - This link is exemplary for students who want to learn more about the American alligator, especially since this type of animal plays an important role in this story. Facts and pictures are included! Great for students to view before and during reading, as a way to interest and set a purpose for reading.

Animal Planet: Wild Animals - This link is an exceptional source for students to interest and engage them about different types of wild animals. Great to view before and during reading! The website includes videos, photos, facts, blogs, newsletters, articles, fun games, animal news and many more!

National Geographic: Mammals - This is an excellent source for students who are interested in learning more about mammals. This is a successful way for students to compare and contrast mammals to reptiles by using the facts provided from the site. Students or teachers could also other types of animals such as amphibians, insects, birds, prehistoric animals and much more. The website also includes photos, quizzes, animal news, videos, plenty of articles and links!

Animal Rescue: The Humane Society of the United States - This link provides students information about an organization that pays close attention to animal rescuing. In the story, the family values saving animals and protecting them. Thus, teachers should introduce to students how to advocate or support animal rescuing in one's community. The website includes photos, videos, the ability to donate to the organization, related issues and articles, contact information and how to subscribe to the organization's magazine!

Key Vocabulary: raptor, sterilizing, enclosure, porpoise, noose, binoculars, reptile, Komodo dragon, waders, scuttled, trotted, silhouette, savannah, kink, parasol, enamel

Teaching Suggestions:

1. Use this text in Science to understand why it is important to advocate wildlife preservation.
2. Use this text in History/Social Studies to learn when the United States began to promote and advocate preservation and conservation. When was Earth Day created and why? Identify the different government laws that pertain to this.
3. Use this text in Science to compare and contrast mammals and reptiles and to learn what is a mammal or reptile based on the characteristics and behaviors it portrays. For example, is a polar bear a mammal or reptile, how do you know based on its features and habitat?
4. Use this text to explore the classification or hierarchy system of all life - also known as animal Taxonomy.
5. Use this text in Science to study ecosystems and how ecosystems are important to not only animals, but the environment one lives in.

Comprehension Strategies:

• Before Reading: 

• Have students complete a "KWL" chart on what they know about American Alligators. First, have students complete the "K," which is what they KNOW about this topic. Then, have students complete the "W," which is what they WANT to know about this topic. Having students complete this activity will set a purpose for reading and to develop and connect to their schema.
• During Reading: 
• Have a whole class activity participating in a concept map discussing the topic of mammals. Teachers may click here for a sample concept map. Each student should have a concept map and in the middle, the word is mammal. Have students think of what a mammal is and the possible characteristics that a mammal has. Then, have students do a concept map for reptiles, etc. After completing each concept map, have students compare and contrast mammals and reptiles with a Venn Diagram. Ask students why are they different? What type of habitat do they both live? What are the same between mammals and reptiles? Have students use examples and/or quotes from the book to further support their comparing and contrasting. Great for teachers and students because teachers will be able to model how to use the concept map and students will apply what they learn to show the relationships in a certain topic or theme.
• After Reading: 
• Have students complete the "L" portion of the KWL chart; this means that they must write down what they learned about the American Alligator based on the reading and if you had students research this reptile, you could have them write down what they learned from the research.
• Provide students an exit slip that has student answering questions relating to what reading strategies helped them understand and construct meaning from the text and how by providing examples, what the main idea or conflict of the story was, or if they were confused by any concept or idea in the story. Purpose of the exit slip is to evaluate or assess how well or if the student is comprehending what they are reading in the story.

Student Writing Activity: Have students create a newspaper article or an editorial review about the Carter's Urban Rescue. Ask students how they would advertise the Carter's family business in rescuing wild animals or have students write a review on how well the Carter family does their animal saving and if they would call them before Animal Rescue or the Zoo staff. Encourage students to make their project creative and out-of-the-box. Make sure students also include the Carter Family's motto or they could create another motto for the family that is appropriate and accurately describes the family's business.

Stauffacher, S., & Lamont, P. (2010). Animal rescue team: gator on the loose!. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.