 Do the whales still sing? Pete, the lighthouse boy, wants to know as he gathers driftwood for a man who sits carving wood next to his boat. The old man tells Pete a story of a fearless whalerman who becomes so enchanted by strange music that he is no longer able to go whaling.‘Three whales broke the still surface of the water. The moonlight glistened over their bodies as they sang their mystical song. The captain bent his head to catch the magical sounds.’
The inspiration for this story came from a tape recording of humpback whale songs. I grew up in a fishing village in a bay where whales had once been abundant. A wonderful discovery was to find that my illustrator, Jude Daly, grew up on the opposite side of the same bay and was the great grand-daughter of a sail-maker and the daughter of a sea captain.
Originally published by Dial, New York, USA, the World rights of this book are available. Please contact my agent: Laura Cecil. |
Illustrated by Jude Daly:  |
