The Narwhal Problem

by Debbie Dadey

  “That’s icky,” Nadine sputtered.

  “That’s what I used to think about your tooth,” Pearl pointed out. “But now I think it’s fin-tastic!”

  “I think you merkids are fin-tastic too,” Nadine told them.

  Kiki put her arm around Nadine. She knew she couldn’t solve all Nadine’s problems, but she could help with one: She could be a merfriend!

  Narwhal Reports in Code

  (Answers are at the end.)

  WHERE NARWHALS LIVE

  by Shelly Siren

  WHAT ARE NARWHALS?

  by Echo Reef

  Clue: I used the shark pen cipher I found in a book. It is sometimes called pig pen, but I have no idea why. It is very tricky, but I put the key here for you. Hope you can figure it out!

  THE NARWHAL’S “PINOCCHIO” TOOTH

  by Rocky Ridge

  Clue: I used the cipher where numbers stand for letters. Kiki made one right before she got into trouble.

  HOW ARE MALE NARWHALS DIFFERENT FROM MOST FEMALES?

  by Kiki Coral

  Clue: I used the code from the code contest.

  Answer Key

  Shelly’s report decoded:

  They live in Arctic waters.

  Echo’s report decoded:

  They are unicorns.

  Rocky’s report decoded:

  It grows through the lip.

  Kiki’s report decoded:

  They have one large tooth.

  REFRAIN:

  Let the water roar

  Deep down we’re swimming along

  Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

  VERSE 1:

  Shelly flips her tail

  Racing, diving, chasing a whale

  Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

  VERSE 2:

  Pearl likes to shine

  Oh my Neptune, she looks so fine

  Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

  VERSE 3:

  Shining Echo flips her tail

  Backward and forward without fail

  Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

  VERSE 4:

  Amazing Kiki

  Far from home and floating so free

  Twirling, swirling, singing the mermaid song.

  Author’s Note

  I BECAME INTERESTED IN CODES when I learned that Cherokee and Choctaw Indians helped pass secret messages during World War I. Because only they knew their language, it was a cipher that none of our enemies could figure out. In World War II, Navajo Indians were recruited by marines to pass messages. They became known as code talkers.

  The narwhal’s large tooth, like a code, is a mystery. People once believed that it was used to find food. Males often rub their tusks together in a move called tusking. This has led scientists to determine that the tooth, or tusk, is similar to a lion’s mane or a peacock’s feathers. It allows narwhals to compete with one another in a nonviolent way.

  Sadly, the narwhals’ problem isn’t made up. Like polar bears, the narwhal’s habitat is threatened by the Earth’s warming. Let’s do what we can to help the narwhal by using our cars only when necessary and walking when we can! If you want to be like our merfriends, remember the three keys to helping our planet: recycling, reusing, and restoring.

  Glossary

  ALGAE: There are seven thousand different types of algae, including seaweeds and pond scum. Algae produces up to 80 percent of the Earth’s oxygen through photosynthesis.

  ANGEL SHARK: The Pacific angel shark looks like a cross between a flattened shark and a ray. It is an endangered species.

  BARREL SPONGE: The barrel sponge grows large enough that a person could actually fit inside!

  BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN: Dolphins and porpoises are often confused with each other. Porpoises are usually smaller than dolphins. The playful bottlenose dolphin’s color varies from light blue to gray, with a paler underside.

  CANDY-STRIPE FLATWORM: This cream-colored flatworm has red stripes and lives in rocky areas of the ocean.

  CORAL: This animal lives in groups. They fix themselves to the ocean floor and make skeletons for support. One touch from a human can damage them!

  HUMPBACK WHALE: The humpback whale’s song can be heard miles away by other humpbacks.

  KELP: Kelp is brown seaweed.

  LUGWORM: You may never see a lugworm, but you might see what it left behind! Many European beaches are filled with coils of sand made by lugworms.

  NARWHAL: Narwhals are a type of porpoise, mostly known for having a long, unicorn-like tooth.

  OCTOPUS: The Dumbo octopus eats worms and snails. Its earlike fins give it a cartoonish look.

  ORANGE SEA PEN: This creature lives in sand and mud. It resembles an old-fashioned quill pen (a sharpened feather used to write).

  PORPOISE: The harbor porpoise often lives in the shallow waters of harbors and bays. While it can dive more than six hundred feet down, it must come to the surface to breathe.

  RIBBON WORM: Most ribbon worms live under rocks in the sea. Some grow to be 160 feet long. That’s almost the height of the Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World!

  SEA HORSE: Sea horses have rigid bodies made up of bony plates. Their heads resemble a horse’s. The pygmy sea horse only grows to be one inch long!

  SEAWEED: Seaweed floats freely in the ocean and can make its own food through photosynthesis.

  SWORDFISH: This fast-moving fish has a long, flat bill with a swordlike appearance.

  SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS: Sometimes two different organisms will interact in a long-term way. This relationship can be harmful or helpful.

  WARTY FROGFISH: This fish looks like it is covered with warts! It is also called the clown frogfish.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to Kristin Laidre for helping with my narwhal research. Dr. Kristin Laidre is a principal scientist at the Polar Science Center at the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington. Any mistakes are my own.

  Sending a huge hug to Tatevik Avakyan for her fabulous illustrations. She has outdone herself with this incredible cover. Thanks also for the amazing work of designers Karin Paprocki and Tiara Iandiorio. For keen eyes and dedication to making things right, thanks to copy editor Valerie Shea and production editor Rebecca Vitkus.

  Pearl Swamp is going to be the Winter Princess at this year’s festival, but will her parents’ surprise spoil her big day?

  Winter Princess

  PEARL SWAMP COULDN’T believe her luck. Out of all the third graders at Trident Academy, her name had been drawn to be the princess at this year’s Winter Festival! If it had been a merboy, they would have had a winter prince. Every year Trident City celebrated the end of the coldest waters with a huge party at the People Museum. All the money raised went to help families in need.

  Pearl had dreamed all her life of being the winter princess! It was the most exciting thing to ever happen to her. She would wear a fancy dress, give the welcome speech, and be the official ambassador for her school. She couldn’t wait to share the news with her parents.

  Pearl zipped through MerPark, around a glass squid, and dashed inside the large pink shell she shared with her parents. “Mom!”

  Her mother popped out of her home office and smiled. “Pearl! I’ve been waiting for you.”

  “I have great news,” they both said at the same time.

  Pearl was surprised. Did her mother already know?

  “What’s your news?” her mother asked.

  “You can go first,” Pearl said.

  Her mother clapped her hands. “You are not going to believe it! You’re getting a baby brother!”

  Pearl hadn’t expected that at all. She opened her mouth. She closed her mouth. Finally, she squeaked, “A baby?”

  “Yes,” squealed her mother. “Isn’t it exciting? We’re adopting a little boy.”

  “A boy?” Pearl muttered. “Why a boy?”

  Mrs. Swamp giggled like a young child. “Well, we already have
a lovely daughter. Don’t you think a boy will be nice?”

  Pearl frowned. A baby girl might have been fun. She could have dressed it in frilly dresses and had tea parties. But she wasn’t so sure about a boy.

  “Does Daddy know about this?”

  Her mother smiled. “Well, of course. This is something we’ve planned for a long time.”

  Her parents had talked to her about adopting a baby, but that had been a while ago. Pearl thought they had forgotten about the whole thing. Why in the ocean did they want a baby? Wasn’t she enough for them?

  “Pearl?”

  Pearl wanted to stomp her gold fins and tell her parents to forget about a baby. But her mother looked so hopeful and happy, Pearl just couldn’t. Instead she fibbed, “I can’t wait.”

  Her mother gave her a hug. “I’ve dreamed of giving our new baby a good home. Our family will be complete.”

  Pearl thought it had been pretty perfect with just the three of them, but she didn’t say so. “Oh, that reminds me,” her mother said. “I’m going to clean out the craft room for the baby’s bedroom.”

  “What?” Pearl couldn’t believe her ears. Pearl and her mother loved their hobby room. It was filled with colorful shells, beads, and even ribbons. They’d had many fin-tastic times making all sorts of fun creations. And now her mom was just going to get rid of it all? “But where will we do our projects?”

  “Don’t worry,” Mrs. Swamp said. “Most merpeople don’t have a craft room and they do just fine.”

  Pearl frowned. Losing her craft room did not sound fine at all.

  Mrs. Swamp floated up their curving marble staircase. She disappeared around the corner before Pearl realized her mother had forgotten to ask about Pearl’s good news!

  About the Author

  Debbie Dadey is the author and coauthor of more than one hundred and sixty children’s books, including the series The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids. A former teacher and librarian, Debbie and her family live in Sevierville, Tennessee. She hopes you’ll visit www.debbiedadey.com for lots of mermaid fun.

  Aladdin

  Simon & Schuster, New York

  Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Debbie-Dadey

  Also by

  Debbie Dadey

  MERMAID TALES

  BOOK 1: TROUBLE AT TRIDENT ACADEMY

  BOOK 2: BATTLE OF THE BEST FRIENDS

  BOOK 3: A WHALE OF A TALE

  BOOK 4: DANGER IN THE DEEP BLUE SEA

  BOOK 5: THE LOST PRINCESS

  BOOK 6: THE SECRET SEA HORSE

  BOOK 7: DREAM OF THE BLUE TURTLE

  BOOK 8: TREASURE IN TRIDENT CITY

  BOOK 9: A ROYAL TEA

  BOOK 10: A TALE OF TWO SISTERS

  BOOK 11: THE POLAR BEAR EXPRESS

  BOOK 12: WISH UPON A STARFISH

  BOOK 13: THE CROOK AND THE CROWN

  BOOK 14: TWIST AND SHOUT

  BOOK 15: BOOKS VS. LOOKS

  BOOK 16: FLOWER GIRL DREAMS

  BOOK 17: READY, SET, GOAL!

  BOOK 18: FAIRY CHASE

  Coming Soon

  BOOK 20: WINTER PRINCESS

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  First Aladdin hardcover edition June 2019

  Text copyright © 2019 by Debbie Dadey

  Illustrations copyright © 2019 by Tatevik Avakyan

  Also available in an Aladdin paperback edition.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

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  Series designed by Karin Paprocki

  Jacket designed by Tiara Iandiorio

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Dadey, Debbie, author. | Avakyan, Tatevik, 1983– illustrator.

  Title: The narwhal problem / by Debbie Dadey; illustrated by Tatevik Avakyan.

  Description: First Aladdin hardcover/paperback edition. | New York: Aladdin, 2019. | Series: Mermaid tales; book 19 | Summary: Kiki and her merfriends learn about coding as they compete to be the escort for a young narwhal who will visit Trident Academy with her famous parents. Includes glossary, key to the codes used, and information about safeguarding narwhals’ habitats.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018040897 (print) | LCCN 2018047906 (eBook) | ISBN 9781481487160 (eBook) | ISBN 9781481487146 (pbk) | ISBN 9781481487153 (hc)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Narwhal—Fiction. | Ciphers—Fiction. | Mermaids—Fiction. | Schools—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.D128 (eBook) | LCC PZ7.D128 Nar 2019 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018040897