Wendy the Whale

The story of Wendy the Whale is a collaboration between David Abraham, who grew up in Hermanus, South Africa, where the story is set, and Alexander Williams, a teacher and playwright. Based on oral history from the 1930s by an elderly fisherman, David managed to verify details of the story through friends in Hermanus, and committed the wonderful story to the page to be enjoyed by children and adults all over the world. The twelve illustrations by Lucy Newton, an artist from Edinburgh, bring an vitality to the story through their richness and detail. Today Hermanus is known as the Whale Capital of the World. It is the best place to watch whales from land or from which to go out on the water to see them. The most common whales there are the Southern Right, though two other species can be sighted: the Bryde's whale and the Humpback whale. Hermanus is proud of its whale-crier, a tradition that dates back to 1991. The whale-crier uses a kelp bugle to let everyone within hearing distance know that the whales have returned home again.