The Whale Child

Thursday, Jun 1, 2023 from 10:00am to 5:00pm
National Nordic Museum
2655 NorthWest Market Street
206-789-5707

This family-friendly exhibition presents lessons in environmental stewardship through captivating images and text from the story The Whale Child, written and illustrated by Lummi, S'Klallam, Norwegian and Swedish authors Chenoa and Keith Egawa.

About the Book:

The Whale Child sends young readers on an adventure with Shiny, a whale child turned into a boy by the ocean’s water spirit. Along with Alex, a young Coast Salish girl, the two travel the earth, confronting the realities of a planet threatened by an uncertain future. Inspired by Shiny’s hope, humor, and wisdom, Alex makes the promise to become a teacher for future generations.

Authors and siblings Chenoa and Keith Egawa also co-wrote and illustrated Tani’s Search for the Heart (2013). They are both enrolled members of the Lummi Indian Nation.

Praise for The Whale Child:

The sacred art of Indigenous storytelling is beautifully upheld in The Whale Child. It teaches us of our relationship with the living Earth, about balance and respect and the responsibilities that we hold toward one another across species.

The story guides the reader using traditional Coast Salish lore in a contemporary narrative, masterfully weaving the timeless wisdom of Indigenous ways of knowing into our current reality. The whale child’s journey is taken for us all. We must bear witness.

Sherri Mitchell Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset, author of Sacred Instructions

Those of us with hands and feet alas who self-identify as members of the Earth’s Whale Tribe now have a new wonderful, strong, kind, and happy tale to represent us, and with which to remember our connection to All Things by.

The Whale Child provides that smart step in the right direction we all need Paul Owen Lewis, author and illustrator of Storm Boy and Frog Girl.

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