We’re delighted that The Boy Who Met a Whale, which we published last week, has been named the Independent Booksellers’ Children’s Book of the Month for January. From Carnegie-nominated Nizrana Farook, with cover art by David Dean, this is a brilliant adventure set in a fictional Sri Lanka, featuring a courageous hero and a huge blue whale!
Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side… Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating adventure in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all…
And today we’re sharing some glittery reviews of the book…
“A fabulous fun-filled adventure, crammed with high seas, dastardly villains and loveable heroes!” – Jasbinder Bilan, author of Asha and the Spirit Bird
“The Boy Who Met a Whale is another cracking adventure from Nizrana Farook… Serendib’s shores glow in my imagination.” – Julie Pike, author of The Last Spell Breather
“What a joy it was to return to the beautiful island of Serendib with its endearing child-heroes, extraordinary animal bonds, calamitous peril, and wild adventures unlike anything you’ll have read before – all dished up with Nizrana’s brilliantly deadpan wit. The Boy Who Met A Whale has it all: menace, mayhem, majestic sea-creatures and even a melancholic ox whose dreams of finding adventure are hilariously fulfilled. I absolutely loved it!” – Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables
“Such a fantastic book. Filled with the most gorgeous description, heart racing adventure & peril, & such a great gang of characters. Absolutely LOVED their bants & humour. Edge of seat reading” – Yasmin Rahman, author of All The Things We Never Said
“A fast paced, page turning adventure” – A. M. Dassu, author of Boy, Everywhere
Read the first few chapters of this wonderful adventure below:
The Boy Who Met a Whale is available now – you can support independent bookshops by ordering a copy through Bookshop.org, here.
