Calling the Whales

LoveReading4Kids Says

Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8

Imparting a powerful message about the vital need to protect the oceans, Jasbinder Bilan’s Calling the Whales also includes facts on humpback whales and how to help the oceans, with Skylar White’s illustrations further enhancing the story’s appeal and accessibility.

“The island is our special place – where Satchen and I can be wild and free. I breathe in the salty air until it reaches right inside my lungs. I stare into the sky with its trillions of stars.” So muses Tulsi at the start of the novel, before wondering how the world used to be, “before we had the chance to spoil the seas”. That’s why Tulsi and Satchen are already committed to saving the environment through beach cleans and fundraising.

But everything becomes a whole lot more real – and dangerous – when the friends hear a strange sound and row out to the island to investigate its source. On discovering a whale trapped in a fishing net, and taking tremendous risks to try to free it, they’re forced to head home. Danger escalates further when a storm is unleashed: “The first crack of thunder is faint. The sky suddenly darkens as the black storm clouds shift together like a sky monster.”

Written in an accessible style, Calling the Whales is driven by action and underpinned by a powerful missive to protect marine-life. In place of following the characters’ example of rowing out to sea (don’t try this at home, folks!), readers may well be inspired to help protect oceans and sea-life through following the tips at the back of the book – using less plastic, supporting charities and volunteering at beach clean-ups.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen is a writer, reviewer and workshop presenter whose lifelong love of books began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About Calling the Whales

After rowing out to an island near their seaside home, Tulsi and Satchen discover a whale that has been trapped in a fishing net. Determined to try to free the poor creature, they repeatedly dive down into the freezing sea to cut the netting, but eventually, exhausted and with a storm rolling in, they have to admit defeat.

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