In the World of Whales

Plunge deep into the awe-inspiring true story of a freediver's encounter with a newborn sperm whale and its family.

When a freediver (one who dives without the benefit of oxygen) slips underwater, he encounters a pod of sperm whales so close he can almost touch them. When he sees blood in the water, he wonders if there's been an injury. When he comes even closer, what he finds instead is a moments-old calf, skin wrinkly and tail fluke still folded from the womb.

The calf's family nudges it up to breathe; nudges it toward each member of the pod, by way of introduction; and then it happens--the mother nudges her child toward the diver, inviting him, too, to share in the family moment.

Told from the vantage point of Belgian freediver Fred Buyle, who with his diving partner Kurt Amsler are the only people known to be present at the birth of a sperm whale, In the World of Whales features lyrical-yet-precise text by Michelle Cusolito and dreamlike illustrations by Jessica Lanan, creator of the Sibert Honor book Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider. Any child who dreams of speaking to animals will adore this proof of humanity's bond with the wild world. At the end of the story, find more information about freediving and whales.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Author: Michelle Cusolito
Publisher: Neal Porter Books
Published: 06/17/2025
Pages: 52
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 10.20h x 9.70w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780823453429
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/24/2025
Kirkus Reviews 05/01/2025
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2025
Booklist 06/01/2025 pg. 72
School Library Journal 05/30/2025 pg. 1
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2025 pg. 83

About the Author
Michelle Cusolito is the author of Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible Alvin, winner of the PEN-NE Susan P. Bloom Children's Book Discovery Award; Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean, and Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty Four Days of Science at Sea. A marine biology major before pivoting to education, she has always found chances to pursue science, such as a summer spent tagging butterflies as a research assistant in Ecuador. She lives with her family in Southeastern Massachusetts.

Jessica Lanan is the Sibert and Golden Kite Honor winning author and illustrator of Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider and The Fisherman and the Whale, a Colorado Book Award finalist and winner of the Bull-Bransom Award for wildlife art. She has illustrated many other books, including The Lost Package by Richard Ho, Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet by Curtis Manley and Thank You Moon by Melissa Stewart. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her daughter and cat.