The Whale Rider

About The Whale Rider

The Māori coming-of-age bestselling modern classic that inspired a multi-award-winning film starring Academy Award-nominated actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, with a foreword by Lily Gladstone

A Penguin Classic Hardcover

Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather’s love and attention. But he is focused on his duties as chief of a Māori tribe in Whangara, on the East Coast of New Zealand – a tribe that claims descent from the legendary ‘whale rider’. In every generation since the whale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir – there’s only Kahu. She should be the next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle, she has a unique ally: the whale rider himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales. Once that sacred gift is revealed, Kahu may be able to re-establish her people’s ancestral connections, earn her great-grandfather’s attention – and lead her tribe to a bold new future.