Story Time with Michelle Cusolito, author of In the World of Whales
When:
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025 7:00p -
8:00p
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025 7:00p -
8:00p
Where:
Porter Square Books
1815 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
Admission:
FREE
Hosted by:
Categories:
Kid Friendly, Lectures & Conferences, Rainy Day Ideas
Event website:
https://portersquarebooks.com/event/2025-08-23/story-time-michelle-cusolito-author-world-whales
Porter Square Books is delighted to welcome author Michelle Cusolito for a story time featuring her picture book In the World of Whales! The author will lead a drawing activity following the story read aloud.
This event will take place at our CAMBRIDGE store. We offer validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall. See parking details below.
RSVP to let us know you're coming and to receive event updates!*
*Please note that you will not receive a confirmation email. However, we will send a reminder email one day before the event. Please check your spam folder if you do not see the pre-event email reminder. Better yet, add [email protected] to your safe sender list to avoid PSB event emails going to spam!
ABOUT IN THE WORLD OF WHALES
Plunge deep into the awe-inspiring true story of a freediver’s encounter with a newborn sperm whale and its family.
When a freediver (one who dives without the benefit of oxygen) slips underwater, he encounters a pod of sperm whales so close he can almost touch them. When he sees blood in the water, he wonders if there's been an injury. When he comes even closer, what he finds instead is a moments-old calf, skin wrinkly and tail fluke still folded from the womb.
The calf’s family nudges it up to breathe; nudges it toward each member of the pod, by way of introduction; and then it happens—the mother nudges her child toward the diver, inviting him, too, to share in the family moment.
Told from the vantage point of Belgian freediver Fred Buyle, who with his diving partner Kurt Amsler are the only people known to be present at the birth of a sperm whale, In the World of Whales features lyrical-yet-precise text by Michelle Cusolito and dreamlike illustrations by Jessica Lanan, creator of the Sibert Honor book Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider. Any child who dreams of speaking to animals will adore this proof of humanity’s bond with the wild world. At the end of the story, find more information about freediving and whales.
PRAISE FOR IN THE WORLD OF WHALES
"This breath-by-breath glimpse offers a magnificent snapshot of an otherwise hidden moment that conveys with deep emotional impact the parallels of creaturely life." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"If ever the description of a rare natural encounter will leave readers filled with wonder, look to these spare, luminous observations of a sperm-whale pod clustering about a just-born calf."—Booklist (starred review)
"It is refreshing to have a book celebrating awhale birth. . . .The text incorporates effervescent onomatopoeia with whooshing exhales and pfff-ing bubbles. . . . Lanan’s depiction of the ocean is masterful. . . . A masterpiece of illustration, this book is essential for all collections."—School Library Journal (starred)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Cusolito is the author of Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin, winner of the PEN-NE Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award; Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean, and Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty Four Days of Science at Sea. A marine biology major before pivoting to education, she has always found chances to pursue science, such as a summer spent tagging butterflies as a research assistant in Ecuador. She lives with her family in Southeastern Massachusetts.
PARKING
Porter Square Books: Cambridge Edition offers validated parking in the lot on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall. Roseland Street is accessible by Beacon Street and Mass Ave. When you arrive at the lot, use the screen on the kiosk to get a ticket.
When you're ready to leave, ask for a validation barcode at the cash register. (No purchase necessary.) Parking is free on weekends and weekday evenings from 6PM-7AM. From 7AM-6PM on weekdays the first 45 minutes are free.
On your way out, scan your ticket at one of the kiosks located in the building and choose "validation." Then scan the barcode your received from us. If you have an additional charge, you will be prompted to pay after scanning your barcode.
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