Follow and learn about humpback whales

“Whale Tales” (Island Heritage, $13.95) by Ron Hirschi provides an educational adventure as it follows humpback whales on their journey from Alaska to Hawaii.

The story is told by Lehua and Kai, two young scientists, who study the whales and document fun facts for readers. The pair are traveling with Captain Mike and Auntie Jan, a whale biologist, to follow the whales as they migrate to warmer waters to give birth to their calves.

Hirschi has more than three decades of experience as a fisheries biologist and has worked at Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Vibrant illustrations by Yuko Green help engage younger readers through the denser informational passages.

Get close look at spiders and their abilities

“SPIDERMANIA: Friends on the Web” (Holiday House, $17.95) by Alexandra Siy with photomicrographs by Dennis Kunkel offers an up-close look at creepy crawlers. Passages on 10 species with unique abilities are interspersed with sections that debunk myths about spiders.

Kunkel, a scientist who has worked at the University of Hawaii and still resides in the islands, created digital images of the spiders using an electron microscope — the process is described in the book. A glossary with sources and websites is included.

Transformed pug gets to enjoy island fun

“The Adventures of Puggums” by Richard “Richbo” Jensen (Xlibris, $15.99) is the tale of a real pug, transformed into a cartoon character, so that he can enjoy fun, island activities that aren’t accessible to dogs. The colorful illustrations bring Puggums’ adventures to life as he dances the hula, goes snorkeling and plays the ukulele.

Jensen was in the Army at Schofield Barracks and worked as an illustrator for the Tropic Lightning News. He’s worked with cartoon characters for more than two decades. Puggums was developed from his own pug, Piglet.

Gecko’s tale also raises safety awareness

“Stanley’s Bummer Bus Ride” (Light Books, $15) by Gloria Andrada tells the tale of a gecko who likes the excitement of riding on the outside of a bus to visit his best friends, Tori the Bee and Glory B. Gee, a humpback whale. After his adventure at the beach with friends, he rides on the outside of a bus and has an accident, raising his awareness of the importance of safety.

Guess the animal through rhyming riddles

“The New What Am I: A Hawaii Animal Guessing Game” by Daniel Harrington (Mutual Publishing, $12.95) features riddles for children to solve. Rhyming clues are given to identify creatures living in the islands. Answers are found on the following pages. Here’s an example:

“I have wings but I am not a bird

My name is a common baseball word

I like to hang upside down at night

If you are alone, I might give you a fright.

What am I?”

And the answer is: “I am a Hawaiian bat, opeapaa.”

Colorful illustrations by Susan Brandt accompany the game.