When a freediver (one who dives without the benefit of oxygen) slips underwater, he encounters a pod of sperm whales so close he can almost touch them. When he sees blood in the water, he wonders if there's been an injury. When he comes even closer, what he finds instead is a moments-old calf, skin wrinkly and tail fluke still folded from the womb.

The calf's family nudges it up to breathe; nudges it toward each member of the pod, by way of introduction; and then it happens--the mother nudges her child toward the diver, inviting him, too, to share in the family moment.

Told from the vantage point of Belgian freediver Fred Buyle, who with his diving partner Kurt Amsler are the only people known to be present at the birth of a sperm whale, In the World of Whales features lyrical-yet-precise text by Michelle Cusolito and dreamlike illustrations by Jessica Lanan, creator of the Sibert Honor book Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider. Any child who dreams of speaking to animals will adore this proof of humanity's bond with the wild world. At the end of the story, find more information about freediving and whales.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection