Willa and the Whale
About this audiobook
When her mother dies, twelve-year-old Willa feels lost and alone—until she meets and befriends a humpback whale named Meg
While on a whale-watching excursion with her dad, Willa is alone on one side of the boat when she sees a humpback whale. Her awe and wonderment about this massive and beautiful creature turns to shock when the whale communicates with her, introducing herself as Meg.
As their friendship develops, Willa comes to view Meg as a trusted confidant—who offers her advice about difficult issues in Willa’s life.
When a blue whale washes up on shore and dies, the townspeople jump into action with opinions about what to do with it. Willa enlists her friends, family, and the City Council to rescue the body of the whale and donate it to the local university where her mom taught for further study and to display the bones.
Feeling good about getting her community to band together in service of science and conservation, Willa returns to the shore to tell Meg about her amazing experience. But Meg tells Willa that it is time for her pod to migrate, and Willa learns that it’s okay to say goodbye.
Willa and the Whale is a poignant story about caring, loss, and the deep connections that make us human.
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About the author
Growing up, Chad Morris was fascinated by blue whales. He read books about the world’s largest creature and did grade school reports on them. He drew pictures of them and taped them to his wall (the pictures, not whales—that would be impossible). He would love to see a blue whale in real life, but he’d rather not meet a bobbitt or zombie worm. Seriously, he’d prefer his bones not become jelly.
Shelly Brown was born in the Northwest and grew up near the ocean. It’s a part of her. She can surf and point out all sorts of sea creatures and plants (though not necessarily at the same time). Now that she lives in the mountains, she has saved money, planned, and taken Chad and their five kids to both coasts to swim, surf, search tide pools, snorkel, and watch sea lions, seals, turtles, whales, and more. Her soul speaks ocean.
Rachel L. Jacobs is an experienced actor, singer, and voice artist based in Los Angeles. She received her BA in theater from Oberlin and did intensive studies with the American Conservatory Theatre, the National Theater Institute, and Shakespeare & Company. A former resident performer with the California Theatre Center, she has dubbed live-action shows, voiced characters for cartoons, and narrated numerous audiobook titles.
