The Whale Rider

I found The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera an emotionally touching and inspired read. The book delves into the myth of how the Maori ancestors came to New Zealand, as well as other aspects of the Maori culture and mythology. Setting his story in modern times, he also wrote this book to appeal to his daughters who had complained that so many stories featured boys as the heroes.

As narrated by her uncle, we learn of Kahu, the first grandchild of her generation. She is cherished by everyone in the extended family except her grandfather, whom she greatly loves but who has no time for females. But after a traumatic episode of whales beaching themselves and dying, Kahu demonstrates that she has the gift to communicate with the giant creatures show more and she helps to restore one ancient giant to the ocean by using the revered tradition of riding the whale out to sea. As Kahu demonstrates her empowerment and overcomes the subtle resentment that her grandfather had directed at her, I was brought to tears.

Written in a poetic style and highlighted with Maori words (for which there is a glossary at the end of the book), I found The Whale Rider to be both a soothing and powerful read. Although marketed as a YA read, I think this book might appeal more to adults than to children. The Whale Rider is a magical book that I highly recommend. show less

This is a beautifully told, fable-like story that has moments of breathtaking loveliness and terrible pain. Little Kahu disappoints her great grandfather severely when she is born: as the first child of the oldest grandchild, she is supposed to be a boy to continue the sacred and traditional leadership of her Maori tribe. From the time that she is a baby, she exhibits preternatural wisdom, maturity, and kinship with whales, said to be primordially connected to the Maori. Kahu devotes her life to her grandfather, who pushes her gruffly to the side until her fateful 8th year, when her gifts emerge to save an ancient whale AND her people. The story weaves Maori history and mythology with more modern issues of racism, discrimination, and show more conflict between the old ways and the modern world.

Curriculum: this book would be a great addition to a secondary-level multi-cultural mythology class or unit. How are the myths of the world similar and different?

Ihimaera, W. (2003). The whale rider. Orlando: Harcourt. show less

Such a beautiful, challenging book. Witi Ihimaera weaves a lush story, combining land and sea, past and present. The tragic scenes were incredibly heartbreaking--between Kahu's one-sided relationship with Koro and when the whales beach themselves, I about started crying at my work desk. And the triumphs were equally brilliant--as fluid and swift as the feeling evoked as the whales sliced through the sea.

I would like to wonder out loud though as to the general designation of this book as children's literature. In the primary library in which I work, we shelve it as "J"...generally, chapter books for grade school and middle school readers. Ihimaera uses a reasonable amount of very erudite language that I imagine would be challenging even show more for some adult readers, and he addresses some rather adult issues of race and poaching through the novel's narrator, Kahu's Uncle Rawiri. I'm thinking specifically of two scenes: 1) The hit-and-run that occurs in Papua New Guinea when Rawiri's white friend, Jeff, hits and kills a native (and friend) on the side of the road with his family's car, and the family urges him to drive on because "It's only a native," and the tribe might seek retribution; and 2) The horrific and immensely sad scene when a herd of 200 whales beach themselves and poachers come to dismember the bodies before they've actually died.

I wonder sometimes what differentiates a children's book from an adult book. Just because Kahu is an 8-year-old doesn't mean necessarily that it should be a book for 8-year-olds (I wouldn't suggest a child read Bastard out of Carolina just because it has a young protagonist). I think this book has definite crossover appeal along the lines of To Kill a Mockingbird, and after viewing the movie after reading this book, I can see how they toned down a lot of the various conflict in the book to make it more kid-friendly. But that's the movie, which is great in its own right, and this is the book. Other libraries consider it a Young Adult book, but in a general sense of its audience, would a teen want to read a book in which its main character only reaches the age of 8? I haven't done any research yet into this question, but I wonder if Ihimaera intended for The Whale Rider to be a children's book or if this was the publisher's marketing idea? Hmmm...just some questions.

Despite all this(!), I really did truly enjoy the book, especially for its insight on Maori culture, the ecological concerns of a world very different from mine, and the bravery and persistence of Kahu. I would absolutely recommend it, focusing on more mature readers.

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Yay! The BBC World Book Club interviewed Witi Ihimaera and used one of my questions! Ihimaera provides a moving and eye-opening commentary about the book--you should check it out. show less

Maori chief Koro Apirana is an old man who feels his health and strength fading. He is desperate to have an heir of his own blood to pass on the things the next leader must know. But when his grandson produces the first child of the next generation, it is a disappointing girl. Koro vows to have nothing to do with her and to look outside his immediate family for the next heir.

The girl, Kahu, makes her great grandfather the center of her life and loves him like no other. She also has inherited some of the mystical Maori powers – apparently she can speak to the whales, echoing the Maori legend of Paikea who led his people to New Zealand on the back of a whale.

The story is told by Rawiri, Kahu’s uncle who is finding his own balance show more between the Maori traditions and the modern world. At one point he goes to work in Papua New Guinea, where, he finds that although the plantation owner’s son is his best friend, other dark-skinned people in the country are treated poorly.

The third set of characters are a pod of whales – we are inside the pod and hear their thoughts as they travel from the Antarctic northward to the fateful island of New Zealand.

This is much more than a children’s story, although it is often depicted as such. It’s a beautiful combination of the exquisitely sad and the beautiful with a strong element of humor thrown in (Go Nanny Flowers!) , which as the author says in an interview, is like “putting an arrow in the bum”(shooting someone with an arrow in the ass) to keep it from being too overwhelming to read.

5 stars with a few tears at the end. show less

Koro Apirana is disappointed to learn that his first great-grandchild is a girl, Kahu. But Kahu grows into a young child determined to get her great-grandfather to love her.

I read this book to fulfill one of Book Riot's "Read Harder" challenges for 2019; it was listed on their website as an example for a specific category. I thought it sounded interesting and was even more pleased to learn it's considered a children's book, since that could be helpful for my job (recommending books to kids is a big part of being a children's librarian!). In the introduction to the book, the author explains how he wrote this book in part for his young daughters who were sick of seeing only boys as the heroes in narratives. So this all seemed show more promising.

Unfortunately, it was pretty disappointing. Ihimaera's way of writing a strong female character fell precisely into the same trap that so many men fall into -- basically making the girl into a boy. Literally, there is a story given of the ancestor who prayed to the gods to become a man in order to overcome a perilous situation. This is referenced numerous times, including at this book's climax when Kahu's great-grandmother declares "If you think you need the help, well, I shall change myself into a man." Kahu herself is named after a male ancestor and is constantly trying to sneak herself into male-centric activities (e.g., listening outside the door of classes designed only for the men in the tribe). Further, the whole story isn't even told from Kahu's perspective; instead it's mainly told from the first-person point of view by her uncle Rawiri, a grown man.

Which brings me to my second point -- this doesn't really seem to be a children's book. Even though Kahu is the book's nominal hero, she isn't the narrator and we spend a lot of time with Rawiri when he isn't even around Kahu. This includes an interlude in which he travels first to Australia and then to Papua New Guinea, where he witnesses the casual murder of a "native." Other scenarios are also disturbing (including the gory cutting up of whales), and some of the language is suggestive and not exactly appropriate for young children. For instance, note this passage towards the end of the book: "The old mother whale began in a three-tone sequence drenched with love. 'My dear lord,' she continued, adding a string of harmonics. 'My man,' she breathed with slyness, threading her words with sensuous major arpeggios, 'the rider you carry isn't Paikea.' The other female whales edged away carefully, but they secretly admired the courage of the old mother whale in questioning the identity of the whale rider. ... The old mother whale cast her eyes downward, hoping that the bull whale would take this as a sign of feminine submission, but she knew, in fact, what she was up to. 'No, no, my lord,' she belled sweetly. The other female whales gasped at the old mother whale's stubbornness. The warrior whales waited for the word from their leader to teach her a lesson." And, yes, even the whales are in a strict patriarchy (with some rather disturbing implications)! The prose can in fact be quite beautiful at times, but the language seems to be above the vocabulary knowledge held by your average 8-year-old (the age of Kahu at the end of the book).

The story itself is layered with mythology, which could be interesting. However, it was so apparent from beginning to end what all would happen that it held no compelling reason to keep reading. I found myself putting it down a lot after only a few pages; even though it's a short book, it took me a while to finish it as a result. show less

It’s very unusual for me to read a book that I’ve already seen the movie for. However, it’s been some time since I’ve seen The Whale Rider movie and this audio was a freebie from the YA Sync Summer Program so I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. It was a whale of a tale!!! (Sorry couldn’t resist : P).

This audio was sheer perfection! The narration, the music, the story…the whole thing was just lovely and just as good (at times even better) than the movie. The narrator and music really gave the story that extra something special. It felt like I was sitting on the couch on a rainy day while my favorite uncle told me a story from his life. I loved it!

What made this story were the characters. They were all awesome show more even when they weren’t acting awesome (ahem, Koro). Their interaction and dialogue made them real. I know I’m not expressing this right, but I felt like they were my family members because I could identify their personalities with the people in my life. The stubborn grandfather reminded me of my dad. Nanny Flowers with her gentleness and spunkiness reminded me a bit of my mom.

I loved how the magic realism was integrated into the story. It was a slow integration until finally towards the end it became more of a modern day folktale. It was very simplistic in style, but still highly emotional. For example, the school scene… I was balling while driving listening to how Kahu had learned the Maori speech specifically for Koro, yet he didn’t show, and how her family stood up to support her. It still brings tears to my eyes at the years Koro wasted away.

I also loved the environmental lessons thrown in throughout the book. How humans have affected the environment by doings things like overfishing. How we have become careless of the world and have tipped the balance. These lessons are shown through the perspective of human eyes and whale eyes. I thought it made it all the more poignant and I hope that this book is featured in schools more. show less

5***** and a ❤

In the poignant author’s note at the beginning of this edition, the author writes about his inspiration for telling this story. While he was working in New York City, he witnessed an extraordinary event – a whale swam up the Hudson. Coincidentally, at the same time, his young daughter, following a day at the movies, asked “Daddy, why are the boys always heroes while the girls yell out, ‘Save me, save me, I’m so helpless?” And so inspired by these two events, Ihimaera turned his attention to the Maori folklore of his homeland, New Zealand and penned this book.

What a wonderful story. Magical, mystical, and yet completely relatable. Eight-year-old Kahu wants nothing so much as to please her Grandfather and be show more loved by him. But he dismisses her as a “useless girl.” Still, her grandmother, father and uncle champion her cause, as she comes of age and proves that she has what it takes to become chief and lead her people.

The novel is full of Maori legend and language, but a glossary at the back helps. As with many stories based on legend and folklore, I am reminded of the many summer nights spent sitting in the dark on the porch at my grandmother’s house, listening to my grandparents, aunts and uncles tell stories that enthralled, scared, educated, and inspired us.

I would love to read more by this author. show less