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The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whales by SJ King

4 out of 5 🌟 Learning if fun!

'Secret Explorers' is a new series about a group of children from around the world with scientific expertise in various topics from space through dinosaurs to volcanos. Each volume brings a new mission to resolve with the help of the most knowledgeable explorers in a particular topic. 'The Lost Whales' book takes place in the South Pacific Ocean and the chosen explorers for that mission are Connor the marine expert, and Roshni the space explorer. As always, the role of sidekick will be revealed during the mission.

'The Secret Explorers' are packed with action and useful information about the given topic. At the end of each book, there are a few pages with iconographic and schemas to sum and explain all the scientific data used in the story, the glossary, and a quiz to test the knowledge. In 'The Lost Whales' readers get to know about... yes, whales but also the ocean's ecology and global warming that poses a real danger to the whole ecosystem. The characters are funny and likable although they're also flat and without any special personality traits. The story itself was fast and packed with action, I liked it better than 'The Comet Collision'.

Overall, it's a great read for storytime or to read by kids themselves as a perfect mixture of an action story, science, and friendly, diverse characters. 'The Secret Explorers' series puts an end to gender diverse children's books and can be enjoyed by everyone.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher DK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.

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