An African American girl has the enviable position as a helper on her family’s whale boat. Today they carry tourists going on whale watches but in the past hunting for whales had a completely different purpose. Alternating pages show the activities in contemporary times in color illustrations and a spritely conversational prose style, explaining what’s going on the facing page, with brown-tone illustrations showing what things were like aboard a whale boat in the past, “before now.” There is an amazing amount of information packed into this short text but it never gets overwhelming, and it’s fascinating to see the comparisons between the two time periods. (Ages 4–8)

"My father and I live for the sea. He is the captain of the Cuffee Whale Boat and today I am his First Mate."

Whale-watching is a hugely popular pastime: at least 13 million people take whale-watching trips each year. But in the past, whaling ships hunted these animals to use their blubber for fuel and their bones for fishing hooks. As the whale population thinned, fortunately hunting ceased. Now, whale lovers go out on boats just to get a glimpse of these giant endangered creatures.

Narrated by a little girl out on the waves with her father, this is a story of marine history and the differences between then and now.