Call of the Whales

Over three summers, Tyke journeys with his anthropologist father to the remote and icy wilderness of the Arctic. Each summer bring short intense friendships with the Eskimos, and adventures 'which Mum doesn't need to know about'.

Tyke is saved from drowning and hypothermia, joins a bowhead whale hunt, rescues his new-found Eskimo friend, Henry, from being swept away on an ice floe, and witnesses the death of innocence with the killing of the narwhal or sea unicorn.

An adventure story set in the endless days of a freezing Arctic landscape, with a haunting presence in the form of the magnificent bowhead whales. A book which will echo in the mind long after the Northern Lights have faded from the final chapters.

Call of The Whales is a powerful, captivating novel of coming of age. The story is told by Tyke now an adult, in a series of evocative flashbacks, as he relives the adventures and encounters that have influenced the rest of his life.

Call of the Whales was shortlisted for the Reading Association of Ireland award 2001.



'[Parkinson's] reputation as one of Ireland's most talented story-tellers for the young can only be enhanced by this powerful yet wistful work, a work which will illuminate the imaginative lives of its readers, no matter what age.'



'An adventure with attitude'



'A captivating coming-of-age tale with a distinctive narrative voice'



'I loved this book ... Family relationships are warmly drawn, and Siobhan Parkinson cleverly extends the book's range to deal with environmental issues such as whaling and international intervention in indigenous ways of life. She can put both sides of the argument with heartfelt simplicity ... This is a good read for anyone over 10, but it would also be a good class reader as it sets out a clear ideal for world citizenship.'