Amanda Abler – författare

A compelling nonfiction picture book about the remarkable rescue of an orphaned orca calf, Springer (A73), whose story captured the hearts of whale lovers throughout the Pacific Northwest.In 2002, a killer whale calf was discovered swimming alone in Puget Sound. This picture book follows the amazing true story of her identification as a member of the A4 pod, a family of Northern Resident orcas living off the coast of British Columbia, and the team of scientists who worked together against all odds to save her from starvation and reunite her with her family. The challenges of capturing Springer, transporting her north from Puget Sound to Canadian waters, and coordinating her release to facilitate a hopeful acceptance back into her family are brought to life in beautiful illustrations that will appeal to readers of all ages. This is a hopeful and celebratory conservation story with a happy ending: Springer gave birth to her first calf, Spirit, in 2013, and a second calf, Storm, in 2017. In addition to the narrative, there are 5 pages of illustrated back matter that go deeper into Springer's story, and include her family tree, a map of her rescue journey, as well as more about how orcas are at risk and what we can do to help.

This incredible story about Bertha, the massive tunnel boring machine that successfully constructed the longest and widest road tunnel in the contiguous United States, under the city of Seattle, brought to life in vibrant and engaging illustrations, will appeal to kids ages 7-10 fascinated with big machines and how they work.In 2013, construction crews raced to replace a crumbling elevated highway along Seattle’s waterfront with a double-decker tunnel running almost two miles under the city. This is the story of Bertha, the mammoth and complex tunnel boring machine that simultaneously dug and built the tunnel, and Deputy Project Manager Greg Hauser and his dedicated crew.Kids interested in engineering and how machines function will love learning about the tunnel boring machine, how it worked, and how Bertha's crew solved problems that arose along the way to ultimately construct an amazing, earthquake-safe highway under the city. In addition to the narrative story the book includes additional information about Bertha and this fascinating engineering feat, including:Facts about Bertha and the tunnelHow Bertha simultaneously dug and built a tunnel Engineering background about the tunnel’s construction