Great Creatures of Mystery by Jan Fortman

Great Creatures of Mystery by Jan Fortman was published in 1977, and although some of the information is a little dated, it is still an interesting read. The opening chapter focuses on the San Clemente Monster  which apparently fishermen first sighted off  the island of San Clemente, off the Californian coast around 1900. It then briefly introduces the topics of the preceding chapters, animals of mystery: lemmings' mad race to nowhere,  the great salmon journey, whales who beach themselves, insectivorous plants, and finally, the great caribou migration.

The San Clemente Monster

There are illustrations by James Warhola, Lynn Sweat and illustrations courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History.  

Black and white, and colour  photographs are also scattered throughout the text.

Beached whales

Why the Whales Came by Michael Morpurgo

This story revolves around the curse which was put on the people of Samson, one of the Isles of Scilly, and how two young children and the supposedly mad Birdman of Bryher manage to redeem the curse some thirty years later. It is not a dark and sinister story about evil curses, rather it is a gentle story about friendship and trust, and it all comes about in the very beginning because of a pair of aggressive swans. The breeding pair drive Gracie and her close friend Daniel away from their favourite local pond where they sail their model ships. In their search for some safe flat water the children find themselves playing on the forbidden Rushy Beach. It is set in 1914. There has been a movie adapted from book entitled When the Whales Came, but I haven't been able to get my hands on it; well not yet. The cover of this novel is a still from the movie.