“When a whale dies, its massive body silently sinks down, down, through the inky darkness, finally coming to rest on the soft, silty seafloor.” An informational picture book describes the ecosystem that develops on and around the whale’s corpse in the roughly 50 years following its death. The whale’s body is “a bountiful gift,” a source of food for countless sea creatures, beginning with hagfish, sleeper sharks, and other fish that eat the whale’s blubber and flesh. Microscopic amphipods pick the bones bare while crabs, hooded shrimp, and pink sea pigs sift through sediment for scraps, all attracting other scavengers. When only the skeleton remains, zombie worms attach themselves to absorb fats and proteins; they break down the bones and are eventually replaced by bone-eating bacteria that produce gases that feed other microbes. Over five decades, the whale’s body supports the life of more than 500 other species. Deep-sea blues abound in the digitally enhanced watercolor and mixed media illustrations, which include enlarged spotlights of microscopic creatures. End matter includes an extensive bibliography and additional information about the species mentioned in the text. (Ages 4-9)