Whale Song by Nicola Davies illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

"Listen! Listen! Listen! Somewhere in the deep, deep blue, a humpback whale is singing. The sounds shiver through the water ... through the timbers of our boat and we can feel them tingle in our bare feet on the deck, and hear them when we lay our heads against the hull. Sounds so strange, they seem to come from out in space, amongst the stars, not from here on Earth."

This book is partly a poem, partly a glorious work of art, and partly an exploration of the science we know about the songs of whales. Male humpback whales use sounds to communicate and they string the sounds together to create complex songs. There are fourteen places that we know of where humpbacks gather in their breeding season. In each group their songs are the same but different groups sing different songs (I love that idea). If the whales in one group hear a different song "they learn it" and add it to their own melody. Nicola Davies uses the idea of beads on necklaces as a way to describe this. 

"Scientists are still trying to discover the meaning behind humpback whale song. It's like trying to decode a language without a dictionary. Scientists have found that humpback song is more like human language than they first thought, but there is so much more to discover..."

Think about the lyrical language used in this book:

"to make an orchestra of sounds"

"He's stringing sounds together to make patterns, like threading coloured beads onto a string."

"The singing of the male whales is a big part of this jamboree."

And the illustrations are luminous:

I urge you to add this book to your library or to find it in a library to share with your young reading companion. It is available here in Australia from Walker Books and was published in April 2026. The publisher have combined the talents of two utterly splendid book creators for this book - Whale Song. 

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author and Children's Laureate Wales 2025-27. Her many books for children include Tiny, Lots and Grow with Emily Sutton; One World with Jenni Desmond; The Promise and King of the Sky with Laura Carlin; and A First Book of ... Nature, The Sea and Animals with Mark Hearld, Emily Sutton and Petr Horácek respectively. 

Britta Teckentrup has created over 120 books, translated into 30 different languages, including The Memory Tree (Hodder), Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright (Nosy Crow) and The House by the Lake (Walker). Her award-winning artwork has appeared on homeware, clothes and packaging. Britta now lives and works in Berlin with her artist husband, son Vincent, and their cat.

Companion book - this one is absolutely perfect:

The Whales' Song

There have been a few books released recently about whales. I urge you to look for this one:

Life after Whale: The Amazing ecosystem of a whale fall

You could link this news story with this book from ABC news where five whale carcasses have been found. When I heard this on the radio last week I sighed with happiness because I adore it when 'real life' and books, such as Life after Whale, collide. The report says:

Researchers explored the remains during multiple deep-sea submersible trips in 2023, collecting samples and mapping the extent of the necropolis. They found five carcass sites and fossils, including skulls belonging to beaked and baleen whales. The oldest bones date back 5.3 million years. Feeding and living on the carcasses were myriad creatures, large and small, including sea cucumbers, squat lobsters and saltwater clams. Many of them are likely species that have never been documented ... Why did so many whales die here? Maybe they were already living in the area and died of natural causes. A few could have perished from exhaustion or illness caused by deep-sea diving. The area's shape, akin to the letter V, could also have funneled the remains to their resting spot ... "

Read more here. And the BBC have a comprehensive article about this find. 

I also found a couple of other books that will be worth finding:

Read more here on the publisher web page - this book looks more suitable for 

Upper Primary readers - 80 pages

A new Australia title (2026)

Here is the Storylinks review

Here are the teachers notes

The Secret life of whales

Home by Nicola Davies

The date is 2067. Society is now divided into two (or maybe four groups) - there are the corrupt rulers called Supas with family names like Murdoch and Nabisco, the Workers who are named for the tasks they perform such as Sacks, one of the two main characters in this story, there are also Rebels and Outsiders.

The Workers are controlled through drugs that are added to their food:

"No one needed to be told about Meal One or Two. Your body did that for you. Every morning you woke up wanting that fat straw in your mouth, and until you got it you felt very bad."

"Product helps Workers. It keeps them happy. Keeps their minds free of worry, of thoughts that might get in the way of their desire to work. And of course it makes them unwilling to leave their Stations."

Workers are also controlled via media propaganda. Meal Two works to calm the down and put them to sleep but before this Workers watch tv. The messages on tv are filled with the dream of Planet Home. They have been told there is another planet, life on this one where they live exist now is dangerous and toxic. Sacks does not even know words like bird or buffalo. Workers are told one day everyone will climb onto space rockets and they will be taken to Planet Home.

Supas "they were the richest, most powerful families. They had resources to build crystal domes to protect their Cities and grow food inside vast buildings. Stations. But they needed workers to grow their food and run their Cities - building, mending, cleaning. All the things Supas didn't want to do. So they offered ordinary people a choice: stay Outside and take your chances with the poisoned world or become a Worker."

The actual setting of this book is several hundred miles from Manhattan. The city is filled with disgusting refuse. The Supas live in the top floors of the badly damaged city towers. 

As this story opens rebels attack. Sacks escapes and so does a young Supa named Nero Nabisco. The race is now on for survival and to expose the corruption and overthrow the leaders and find a way to free the workers. Along the way Sacks and Nero also discover their own heritage, identity and most amazing of all they discover they are connected -they are twins.

Take a look at the labels I have added to this post - these will give you an idea about some of the themes.

There are graphically described battles in this book and horrible descriptions of battery chickens called Units so I will only recommend this book to mature readers aged 11+ especially if they enjoy Science Fiction or dystopian stories. Readers in Australia will not identify with the Native American culture that is explored in this story - it is a minor theme but one that added an interesting layer to the story for me. I do enjoy books which explore corruption and coercion and brainwashing (such as in cults) but clearly these are deep ideas suitable for mature readers. The prologue to Home is chilling. 

Companion books (many of these could have the label Post Apocalyptic):

The Last Human

Where the River runs Gold

The Dog Runner

The Glass Tower

How did I miss this book from 2005? I wonder how it came to be in the library where I have been working as a volunteer?  I told a bookseller in a shop the other day that I am a huge fan of dystopian middle grade books - Home is a perfect example. Home was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award. I wonder if IBBY UK have considered nominating Nicola Davies for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Her body of work is SO impressive - from non fiction to picture books to complex novels like Home. Wikipedia have a list here of all her books up until 2023. Here is a 2021 interview where Nicola Davies talks about animals and non fiction and climate change. 

Bookseller blurb: Thrilling futuristic science fiction with an environmental slant. It's 2067 and the world has become virtually uninhabitable with all the pollution and toxins created by mankind. Ruling classes live holed up in the cities and workers live in Stations, safe from the outside world. But one day Station 27 is taken over by rebels. Nero, from the ruling classes, and Sacks, a worker, find themselves thrown together as they're captured by the rebels, their common enemy. As they begin to discover the terrifying truth about their world, the two children get separated and find themselves in great danger. Will they find each other before it is too late?

Listen to an audio sample here. This sample is a perfect introduction to this book - you could use it in a book talk with your library group of readers aged 11+.

Here are some other books by Nicola Davies which show the breadth and depth of her writing:

Ride the Wind

Last the story of a white rhino

Just Ducks

Butterflies for Grandpa Joe

King of the Sky

Last: The story of a white rhino by Nicola Davies

This is such an important book which should be added to every school library collection. In March, 2018 the last male Northern White Rhino died. 

"This book was inspired by the true story of a real rhino named Sudan. Rhinos were once plentiful in Africa, Asia and even in Europe. But when Sudan was born, members of his subspecies the Northern White Rhino had been hunted almost to extinction for their horn. Rhinos' horn is made of the same material as you nails. Yet, some humans believe it has magical healing properties. Thousands of rhinos have been killed for their horn."

Here is a short video where Nicola Davies talks about her book. 

Publisher blurb Tiny Owl: A rhinoceros is captured by poachers and put in a zoo in the middle of a grey city, where all he can do is pace back and forth. He misses his home in the wild in Sudan, his mother, and the smell of earth and rain. He fears he may be the very last of his kind. Then one day, he is rescued and released back into the wild, to live free with the other rhinos.

Here are some Teacher Notes. Read more at Helping Rhinos and at the Rhino Resource centre. In this post Nicola Davies talks about her inspiration to write this book. 

Just Ducks by Nicola Davies illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino

Rubbino’s mixed-media illustrations, done in a subdued palette of watery greens, grays and browns, truly impress. Kirkus Star review

The first thing a little girl hears each morning is the quack quack quack of the ducks. She sees them on the river bank as she crosses the bridge to school and in the afternoons she and her mother feed the ducks. Around my lake there are signs asking people not to feed bread to the ducks but instead to purchase (cheap) duck food from a local cafe. 

In simple language perfect for younger readers, Nicola Davies explains the feather colours and habits of mallard ducks. "They both have a secret patch of blue on each wing, that I see when they stretch or fly."

I have two reasons for selecting this book from my friend's fabulous library.  First of all I just love illustrations by Salvatore Rubbino which I first saw in the book Ride the Wind. Secondly, I live beside a lake and right now little sets of baby ducks can be seen dutifully following mother ducks along the shore. Everyone, old and young, stop watch because they are so cute!  I have also talked about the splendid work and varied work of Nicola Davies here on this blog especially after she was a featured speaker at the USBBY Conference I attended. 

Just Ducks has an index, a page with extra information about ducks and scattered throughout the text, little facts are shared in a different font expanding on the narrative of that page.  Here are a few of the splendid titles from the Read and Wonder series (Candlewick ) or as Walker Books calls them Nature Storybooks. Read more here from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. You can see a Pinterest collection of them here.  These are an essential addition which should be added to every Primary school library.

Ride the Wind by Nicola Davies illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino

In order to understand kindness perhaps you need also experience unkindness. The same might apply to the concepts of empathy and anger. 

Tomas, a fisherman, has lost his wife. He grief has turned into anger. Javier, his son, has lost his mother. He is afraid of his father but he is also desperate for love. When an albatross is caught in their fishing net Javier is able to pour his love and kindness into the care of this glorious bird. She reminds him of his mother. Tomas does not want his son to keep the bird but in contrast the people in the town are so kind. Senora Araya gives him ointment, Senor Ortiz gives him a soft bed for the bird and Senorita Vidal supplies small fish for "just a little money."

Then comes the day his father has said they must release the bird. It is a day of wild wind and big seas. Javier is so pleased because this means his father will not be able to set sail but when he arrives home he makes a devastating discovery. His father has sold the bird. Now it is Javier who is angry but he turns his anger into action. He runs off to find the man who has his bird. 

"Javier smashed his way into the car and took the bird from her prison. The police would be called, but he didn't care."

Now we come to the most dramatic scene. Tomas sees his son running towards the cliff. Javier is not thinking about the cliff, he is thinking about his bird and the wind and freedom for his albatross. His only intention is to see the bird fly home. Tomas, however, has no thoughts about this bird. He thinks he is going to lose his son. The depth of his anger and his withdrawal from the world have been so profound. Tomas needs to be shocked in order to understand just how precious his son truly is. He sees his son disappear over the cliff edge but his son is not gone.

"He took his son in his arms and held him, knowing that nothing, nothing, nothing in all the world was more precious."

The word placement in this book is perfection. Look at these contrasts:

rough seas ... colours of the little houses gleamed against the green slopes

icy water ... (the boat) chugged into port like a clucking hen

weak and childish ... ointments to heal its wounds, an old bed for a nest

furious, scowled, stormed out ... patted his nephew's shoulder, (his face) lit up with a smile exactly like his mother's

The emotional arc of this book is also perfect. Yes the anger of Tomas is harsh and upsetting. But the ending where the father is reunited with his son is heartwarming and so very real. An adult reader might think Javier planned to jump off the cliff perhaps to return to his own mother but I truly think all Javier wants is for this huge and beautiful bird to fly away, to fly away and find her mate, her own true love.

I would share this book with a child aged 7+ making sure there is plenty of time to talk about the relationship between Javier and his father. My own dad was often quite angry. I don't think we need to shelter kids from this emotion but it does need to be handled carefully.

In this guest post Nicola Davies talks to Walker books about her book and her interest in the albatross.

I have mentioned Salvatore Rubbino previously on this blog - Our very own dog; and I discover he is the illustrator of the poetry book Orange Silver Sausage. His art in Ride the Wind is almost tactile. The end papers are wonderful and the storm clouds on the last pages allow the tenderness of Tomas hugging his son to really shine.

I have also talked about Nicola Davies. She was a major guest speaker at the last USBBY conference held in Austin, Texas in 2019. Here are just a few of her books you should explore:

Nicola Davies includes some facts about the albatross in her book. Read more here.

I would pair Ride the Wind with Fly by Jess McGeachin and The Storm Whale by Benji Davies.

Butterflies for Grandpa Joe by Nicola Davies illustrated by Mike Byrne

Young Ben is the quiet hero of this story.  His beautiful grandmother has died and Grandpa Joe is very deeply sad. So sad he cannot get off the couch and he does not respond to Ben's attempts to get him engaged, even though Ben visits nearly ever day.  Ben knows his grandfather had a special interest in, and love of butterflies. Ben hatches a plan to help his grandfather. He buys a butterfly kit but this process will take time from egg to caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly and time is something Ben doesn't have because mum and dad think Joe now needs to go into care. They plan to sell his grandpa's house very soon.

The family structure in this book is a little complex but that adds to the emotion of the story. Take another look at the title formatting. You can see "FOR" in capitals and bold. The butterflies are more than a gift they are the key to helping Grandpa Joe find his way again.

You can read the first chapter of this book on the Barrington Stoke web site.

This is a beautiful story. Nicola Davies has captured that special bond across the generations that so frequently exists between grandparents and their grandchildren. Ben loves his grandpa and Grandpa Joe loves Ben too but grief has left the old man unable to display this love anymore. I admired Ben’s determination to try to help. Library Lady

If you have not yet discovered these little easy chapter books from Barrington Stoke can I recommend you head off to your local bookshop or library. I have read quite a few of them now and they are all terrific. If work in a school library these books should be an essential edition to your collection.

The Bakery of Happiness

White Feather

The Smile

After reading this book your young reader might be curious about the life cycle of butterflies. In your library head to the non fiction shelves [598.78]. These books are well worth exploring: