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The Lost Whale

by Hannah Gold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold

Interest age: 9 to 12
Reading age: 8+

Published by Harper Collins, 2022

About this book

Feeling abandoned after his mother goes into a hospital for treatment for mental illness, Rio arrives in California to a grandmother he has never met before and does not want to know.

Watching the grey whales off the coast, he realises he has a special talent that allows him to hear them. He makes friends among the whale watching community. When one of the whales, the beloved Whitebeak, goes missing, both adults and children join forces to find her. In the common cause to rescue Whitebeak, families are healed.

With passionate and lyrical descriptions of the sea and whales, this novel takes us through Rio's emotional journey from a traumatised outsider to someone who knows his strengths and his place in the world. As he cares for Whitebeak, he comes to understand more about how he has cared for his mother in the past, what he can achieve and what he cannot.

The Lost Whale has a strong environmental message and an atmosphere aided by the striking illustrations of Levi Pinfold, which help the story come to life, just as it did in the previous collaboration between author and illustrator in The Last Bear.

About the illustrator

Levi Pinfold was born in the Forest of Dean. His love of stories, painting and the work of illustrators such as Maurice Sendak, Alan Lee and Dave McKean led him to study Illustration at the University College Falmouth, where he developed narrative illustrations in his own style; a stylised realism.

Alongside painting, Levi writes stories in his spare time. Since graduating from university in 2006, Levi has worked as a self employed illustrator. The Django (Templar Publishing) his debut picture book, is inspired by Levi's love of music. Levi lives and works in Cornwall, and plays banjo and guitar when no one else is looking. Levi won The Book Trust Early Years Award in the Best Emerging Illustrator Category for 2010.

Levi was chosen for a Book Trust Best New Illustrators Award in 2011.

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