In the spirit of modern-day classics like Fish in a Tree and Counting by 7s comes the Schneider Family Book Award-winning story of a deaf girl’s connection to a whale whose song can’t be heard by his species, and the journey she takes to help him.From fixing the class computer to repairing old radios, twelve-year-old Iris is a tech genius. But she’s the only deaf person in her school, so people … person in her school, so people often treat her like she’s not very smart. If you’ve ever felt like no one was listening to you, then you know how hard that can be.
When she learns about Blue 55, a real whale who is unable to speak to other whales, Iris understands how he must feel. Then she has an idea: she should invent a way to “sing” to him! But he’s three thousand miles away. How will she play her song for him?
Full of heart and poignancy, this affecting story by sign language interpreter Lynne Kelly shows how a little determination can make big waves.
“Fascinating, brave, and tender…a triumph.” –Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award-winning author of The One and Only Ivan
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At its luminous heart, Song for a Whale is a tale about longing for connection and finding it in the most magical and unexpected of places. Fascinating, brave and tender, this is a story like no other about a song like no other. A triumph.
I think that every middle grade student should read this book. I read this and it’s such an inspirational story of a deaf girl.
This is easily one of my all-time favorite MG novels. From the get-go, we immediately root for Iris, a twelve-year-old girl who is deaf and loves to repair broken radios (symbolic, in a way). Iris is the only deaf student in her school, which makes her feel unheard and like an outsider. She wants to go to the all-deaf school, but her parents fear that sending her there may disconnect her from them. When Iris learns about a whale who speaks at a frequency that no other whales can hear or understand, she feels an incredible compassion and affinity. She begins to work on a project that will show the whale, Blue 55, that he’s not alone. But everything from distance to school and her parents is determined to keep her from her goal of reaching Blue 55.
I wept…a couple of times…when I read this novel, and immediately bought copies for several of my loved ones. This story really moved me and I enthusiastically recommend it to readers of all ages.
A Whale of a Tale: what a fun and deep 🙂 adventure! Iris has a lot going on! Her new school isn’t working out well. Her grandpa passed away and her grandma is grieving so much that they can’t talk they way they used to. (But things get happier!) When Iris finds out about a whale whose song is higher than all the “regular” whales, she has to do something to connect. After all, she was named for a whale!
Iris has an interesting hobby: You might think it would be hard to re-build radios when you’re deaf, but she’s good at it. Her friend Wendell goes to a school for the deaf, so he has many more friends who can sign. His interesting hobby is space and he has a telescope that Iris gets to look through too.
This book made me want to go to Alaska and see whales and dolphins with my friends!
This book was a page turner and I could have read it in one day!
I loved the unique elements of the book – the deaf protagonist, the radios, the whales. It was different and at the same time felt so real.
This is a great chapter book for upper elementary and middle school students. The person who doesn’t hear (deaf) makes a song… It was so unbelievable from my point of view at first, but soon I learned how deaf people enjoy songs and why it’s so important, especially for Iris. Being alone and losing beloved grandpa were tough enough, but she discover what she really is and need. A deep gratitude she learned was towards everybody and every events that happened in her life.