ICE WHALE

In the mid-1800s, an Alaskan Eskimo boy witnesses a rare sight: the birth of a bowhead, or ice whale, that he names Siku. But when the boy unwittingly leads a pod of bowhead whales to their death by way of Yankee whalers, he is banished from his village. From then on, a curse haunts each of his descendants, in reality and also in their dreams. The persecution finally ends when a daughter recognizes and saves Siku, who in turn rescues her. Told in alternating human and whale voices, Jean Craighead George's final novel touchingly showcases the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and the earth they share.

With illustrations by John Hendrix.

ICE WHALE is one of the last books this prolific and award-winning author wrote before passing away in 2012.