Song for A Whale

Name: Song for A Whale
Brand: Penguin Random House Distribution
SKU: 9781848126916
Price: 18.99 NZD
Availability: OutOfStock

By Lynne Kelly

0.0 (0 reviews)

4.22

( 14,618 ratings, 2,166 reviews)

Summary

Song for A Whale follows Iris, a young deaf girl who has never let her deafness define her. After the loss of her grandfather, Iris feels increasingly isolated, finding solace only in her electronics workshop where she dismantles antique radios. Her world changes when she learns about a whale that cannot communicate with others of its kind. Moved by the whale's loneliness, Iris devises a plan to connect with the creature and embarks on a daring adventure that takes her beyond her familiar world, forging an extraordinary connection that transcends isolation.
Read More

Format: Paperback / softback

TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock

Sorry, we're currently out of stock of Song for A Whale. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This stirring and heart-warming tale is ideal for children and young readers who enjoy stories about resilience, empathy, and overcoming challenges, especially fans of Wonder.

FICTION 19 Oct 2026

Shirl and Lizzy Review The Starving Bride

Catherine Chidgey does it again with another incredible novel that will have people talking for...

FANTASY 18 Oct 2026

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reads for the Spooky Season

We asked our Sci-Fi and Fantasy reader, Edd, to share his recs for Spooky Season...

BOOK REVIEW 18 Oct 2026

Review: In the Room

An emotional and authentic retelling of an extraordinary chapter in our country’s history. Andrew Campbell’s...

NON-FICTION 16 Oct 2026

An Evening with Ryan Holiday: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Life

I was lucky enough to see Ryan Holiday speak in Auckland on Tuesday night. I've...

AUTHOR SIGNING 16 Oct 2026

Emma Galloway visits Book Hero

We we delighted to have chef and author, Emma Galloway, visit Hero HQ to promote...

A stirring and heart-warming tale of a young deaf girl who is determined to make a difference. For fans of Wonder.

A stirring and heart-warming tale of a young deaf girl who is determined to make a difference. For fans of Wonder.

Description

A stirring and heart-warming tale of a young deaf girl who is determined to make a difference. For fans of Wonder.

Iris was born deaf, but she's never let that define her; after all, it's the only life she's ever known. And until recently she wasn't even very lonely, because her grandparents are both deaf, too. But Grandpa has just died and Grandma's not the same without him. The only place Iris really feels at home anymore is in her electronics workshop where she loves taking apart antique radios.

Then, during a science lesson about sound waves, Iris finds out about a whale who is unable to communicate with other whales. The lonely whale awakens something in Iris. She's determined to show him that someone in the world knows he's there.

Iris works on a foolproof plan to help the whale but she soon realises that that is not enough: Iris wants to find the whale herself.

One stolen credit card, two cruise ship tickets, and the adventure of a lifetime later, Iris and the whale each break through isolation to help one another be truly heard in ways that neither had ever expected.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781848126916

Publisher: Templar Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 05 February 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Piccadilly Press

Audience: Children

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 131.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 226g

Pages: 320

Collections

Children's Books Children’s, Teenage and Educational Lynne Kelly Penguin Books

About the Author

Lynne Kelly has spent 25 years as a sign-language interpreter, enabling her to write Iris' story with acute insight, awareness, and sensitivity. Her first novel, the award-winning Chained (FSG, 2012), won the SCBWI's Crystal Kite award, and sold 15,000 copies in hardcover.

Lynne lives in Houston, Texas.

Also by Lynne Kelly

View all

The Memory Code

In the past, the elders had encyclopaedic memories. They could name all the animals and plants across the landscape, and the stars in the sky too. Yet most of us struggle to memorise more than a short poem. Using traditional Aboriginal Australian songlines as the key, Lynne Kelly has identified the powerful memory technique used by indigenous people around the...

By Lynne Kelly

Paperback

$35⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$37⁹⁹~~

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
First Knowledges Songlines

Let this series begin the discussion. - Bruce Pascoe An act of intellectual reconciliation. - Lynette Russell Songlines are an archive for powerful knowledges that ensured Australia's many Indigenous cultures flourished for over 60,000 years. Much more than a navigational path in the cartographic sense, these vast and robust stores of information are encoded through song, story, dance, art and...

By Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly

Paperback

$32⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
The Knowledge Gene

Over 500,000 years ago, a single gene mutated. It spread over time, becoming critical in the journey that transformed our earliest ancestors into fully modern humans, capable of navigating the entire planet and beyond. A few thousand years ago, humans started outsourcing knowledge to writing, displacing art and music from the heart of learning. This is the extraordinary story of...

By Lynne Kelly and Dr Lynne Kelly

Paperback

$39⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Songlines: First Knowledges for younger readers

How do you find your way around, get your food and drink, connect with your friends and family? How do you know the right and safe way to do things, or how to make things? Before the white people came to the continent, all Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples knew how to do all these things - and...

By Margo Neale and Lynne Kelly and Margo Ngawa Neale

Paperback

$29⁹⁹

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Three Blue Hearts

From the bestselling author of Song for a Whale comes a moving tale about the life-changing bond between a boy and the octopus he rescues. NATIONAL BESTSELLER. From the bestselling author of Song for a Whale comes a deeply moving story about a boy, an octopus, and the extraordinary bond that changes their lives forever. Max can't seem to escape...

By Lynne Kelly

Hardback

$37⁰⁰

Available
Ships in 4-6 weeks
Pre-order

Three Blue Hearts

National Bestseller. From the bestselling author of Song for a Whale comes a deeply moving story about a boy, an octopus, and the extraordinary bond that changes them forever — perfect for fans of Remarkably Bright Creatures to share with the young readers in their lives. Max can't seem to escape the big, looming shadow of his politician dad. But...

By Lynne Kelly

Paperback

$35⁰⁰

Pre-order
Out 5 Jan 2027

More from Children's Books

View all

New Release

Gruffalo Granny

The brand new Gruffalo picture book from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The Gruffalo said to his daughter one day, "Your Gruffalo Granny is coming to stay." Return to the deep dark wood with the first new Gruffalo story in over 20 years, and meet Gruffalo Granny as she visits the Gruffalo family. This fresh and exciting new Gruffalo adventure...

By Julia Donaldson

Hardback

$24⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$30⁰⁰~~

(2)

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Detective Beans Colouring Club

Help Detective Beans solve the case of the missing colours! Join the Colouring Club now! Join the Detective Beans Colouring Club! Inside you'll find 40 removable colouring pages featuring scenes from all over Cat Town. Filled with all the characters you know and love from the Detective Beans graphic novels like Biscuits, Beans' mum, Mr Brickle, Bear, Detective Baby Bird...

By Li Chen

Paperback

$17⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Wahine

From a majestic mermaid to a clay woman, the creator of glaciers to the mother of gardening, discover powerful wahine and how their stories shaped the world around us. Wahine introduces readers to twelve purakau of brave, bold, and inspiring women of Aotearoa. A beautifully illustrated collection that will delight the whole whanau, from award-winning illustrator Isobel Joy Te Aho-White....

By Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

Hardback

$31⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$39⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Sixth Faction

Beatrice Prior stands on the brink of a decision every person in her world must make: five factions, five futures, five lives. She has a plan: she's going to make the bravest choice, and leave Abnegation behind to join Dauntless, even though it means leaving her family behind. But when tragedy strikes at her Choosing Ceremony, everything changes—her world, her...

By Veronica Roth

Paperback

$29⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$34⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Lottie Brooks’s Twelve Disasters of Christmas

From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! But this time... it's not about Lottie! From hilarious MEGA bestselling author, Katie Kirby, comes a new story collection from the world of Lottie Brooks! And it's CHRISTMAS! In The Completely Chaotic Christmas of Lottie Brooks we spent the holiday season with...

By Katie Kirby

Paperback

$17⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
On Sale
21% off
New Release

Matihe! Achoo!

What happens when a grumpy tupua has to sneeze? Matihe! Achoo! is a bilingual story about the tupua Mataoho and his connection to the volcanoes of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. It comes with an action song to engage young readers! He pūrākau e pā ana ki a Mataoho me ngā puia o Takamaki Makaurau. He tupua pukukino a Mataoho e noho...

By Qiane Matata-Sipu

Paperback

$15⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$21⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
The Sweet As Looky Book

Can you find all the chocolate fish? Is it possible for kiwi to fly? Can you spot the difference? See Aotearoa New Zealand through the eyes of award-winning artist Donovan Bixley in The Sweet As Looky Book. Use your finest skills to seek out pirates in the Bay of Islands and birds in Rakiura Stewart Island. Get in a car...

By Donovan Bixley

Hardback

$22⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

Backorder
Ships mid October
New Release

Pocket Observology

Pocket Observology is a practical field guide designed for those who love to explore and understand the natural world around them. Slip this guide out of your pocket to identify, measure, compare, or find clues to the things you encounter every day in nature. This pocket guide is a useful tool and a fun reminder of how to engage with...

By Giselle Clarkson

Paperback

$23⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$27⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

The Day of the Dinosaur Disaster

Angry anacondas, blizzarding blobs, carnivorous cactuses ... what kind of twisted curse will Glam-Evil think up this time?!Only it's not just Glam-Evil's curse the gang needs to worry about; they've got a few other problems, too. Swooping Pteranodons, a hungry T-Rex, a missing mother, and ... is that ... an ASTEROID?!Join MILES AND JONES as they face their biggest challenge...

By Sam Smith

Paperback

$14⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$14⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
On Sale
15% off
New Release

The Neverfear

A world of richly-imagined wonder Cressida Cowell It’s the Midsummer Feast on the Islet of Glimt and on this magical moonlit evening, the word on everyone’s lips is bandits. Reports of masked men burning villages are spreading throughout the Archipelago, but worse is still to come: Christopher and Anya are ambushed and one of the people they love most is...

By Katherine Rundell

Paperback

$17⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$22⁹⁹~~

In Stock
Ships today
New Release

Mari the Unwonderful Witch

A charming, cosy and thought-provoking tale about a wonderfully unconventional little witch, by bestselling author of BUTTER, Asako Yuzuki. Perfect for fans of WICKED, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and THE HATMAKERS series by Tamzin Merchant - and anyone who likes an enchanting adventure with just a hint of mischief. Mari the Unwonderful Witch introduces us to Mari, an eleven-year-old witch who...

By Asako Yuzuki

Paperback

$19⁹⁹
Elsewhere:
~~$24⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today
On Sale
20% off
New Release

Animalia 40th Anniversary Edition

A beautiful, foiled collector's edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Graeme Base's classic and bestselling Australian picture book, Animalia. Embark on a fantastical alphabetic adventure where each turn of the page unveils a rich tapestry of intricate illustrations tied to a unique letter of the alphabet. More than 5 million copies sold worldwide Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA)...

By Graeme Base

Hardback

$24⁰⁰
Elsewhere:
~~$35⁰⁰~~

In Stock
Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.