SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About TLT
  • Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • A to Z Book Lists
    • Book Review Policy
  • Teen Issues
  • Middle Grade Mondays
  • Programs
    • TPiB
    • Tech Talk
  • Professional
    • Teen Services 101
    • Things We Didn’t Learn in Library School
  • MakerSpace
  • Projects
    • #SVYALit
    • #FSYALit
    • #MHYALit
    • #Poverty in YA Lit

February 3, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor

The ocean, an elephant, and a historical figure: Three things that inspired The Boy Who Met a Whale, a guest post by Nizrana Farook

February 3, 2022 by Amanda MacGregor   Leave a Comment

I started writing The Boy Who Met a Whale two years ago. A decade before that I’d left my life in Colombo, Sri Lanka, moving countries and continents to the other side of the world. One of the things that I missed the most became my first inspiration for this book.

The sea was a greyish blue, deepening gradually to a brilliant turquoise with the rising sun shining on the waves. Coconut trees fringed the beach, their wiry trunks twisted like swaying cobras.  –      The Boy Who Met a Whale

I lived by the ocean all my life in Sri Lanka. I always took it for granted but when I left I lost that companionable sound – the roar and crash of the waves. The newfound silence was strange and almost deafening in its absence. 

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

And so it was that when I started the book I went to the sea. Not just by it but actually into it too. This was my chance to show the beautiful scenes and sea creatures of the world I left behind, so I had a great deal of fun with this coastal, island setting. 

The sea under them had gone grey and mottled. As he watched, the darkness spread out around them, getting bigger and bigger, as if something was rising from the bottom of the ocean.  –      The Boy Who Met a Whale

The second thing that inspired my book was an elephant. Not a real elephant but a fictional one, and of my own making too. Ananda the elephant appeared in my debut, The Girl Who Stole an Elephant. When I began writing my second book I was aware of the need to have an animal that was comparable to an elephant in some way, as many readers might come to it after reading my first. I thought of the beauty and majesty of Ananda and was suddenly struck by the fact that a whale would be a worthy successor. 

It occurred to me that the elephant was the largest land animal, and so I settled on a blue whale because it was the largest sea animal. By some serendipitous coincidence, I found out that there is only one country on earth where the world’s largest land animal and sea animal exists in the wild. That country, as you might have guessed, is Sri Lanka. I felt that this was a sign and that Maalu the blue whale was the perfect animal for a follow-on to my debut.

Researching whales and watching hours of whale videos confirmed this. They were the most beautiful and fascinating of creatures, the gentle beasts of the ocean. I’d planned an ocean adventure and how fabulous would it be to have a whale as a fellow adventurer for some of the journey! She even had a hand in thwarting the villains.

“What’s your name?” asked the boy, after taking a long swig of coconut water. “I’m Zheng.” 

“I’m Razi. I live in the town down the beach from here. How come you speak our language?” He glanced nervously at the sea. Would the men be back? And was it all right to leave the boy in this state? 

Zheng wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Oh, I speak loads of languages. I don’t mean to boast, but I can’t think of a language I don’t know even a little of. Been all over the world, you see.” Razi frowned. So much for not boasting. –      The Boy Who Met a Whale 

The third thing that inspired my book was one of my favourite historical figures, Admiral Zheng He. 

The Boy Who Met a Whale opens with a ship sinking, and a boy seemingly the only survivor of the shipwreck. In the second chapter, the protagonist Razi is watching baby turtles going into the sea when a boat comes in. Inside the boat is a boy who’s full of the most fanciful stories about an adventure-packed seafaring life. Every story has the touch of the unbelievable about it, so we’re never quite sure how much of it is true. I felt like this boy deserved a grand, maritime name, and who better than one of the greatest explorers ever?

Zheng He was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, and fleet admiral from the fourteenth century. His many voyages included forays to Sri Lanka as well. About a hundred years ago a stone tablet was found in a town called Galle in Sri Lanka, and it was found to have been inscribed in three languages in Nanjing and brought to Sri Lanka by Zheng He himself. Interestingly, Galle is also the place my book is set in. I pounced on that tidbit at once, choosing the name Zheng for the mysterious boy and making him a polyglot as a nod to the trilingual stele brought by his famous namesake.

Those three things formed the keystones of my inspiration. The ocean, a blue whale, and an exciting stranger kicked off this maritime adventure; I hope you have fun diving into it.

Meet the author

Nizrana Farook was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The beautiful landscapes of her home country find their way into the stories she writes. She has a master’s degree in writing for young people and lives in Hertfordshire, England with her husband and two daughters. 

About The Boy Who Met a Whale

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

A Sri Lankan fisherboy is swept up in a thrilling seafaring adventure, complete with a kidnapping, missing treasure, and a huge blue whale! From the author of The Girl Who Stole an Elephant.

Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side.

Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating escapade in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all.

Author Nizrana Farook has crafted another briskly paced, action-packed quest that swells with empathetic heroes, missing treasure, and a great beast lurking beneath. Set against a vibrant, authentic landscape inspired by Sri Lanka, this delightful caper will thrill young fans of adventure and fantasy.

ISBN-13: 9781682633731
Publisher: Peachtree Publishing Company
Publication date: 02/01/2022
Age Range: 8 – 12 Years

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
AdventuresGuest postsInspirationShipwrecksSri LankaWriting

About Amanda MacGregor

Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

December 2022

Book Mail: Romances, thrillers, mysteries, dystopias, and more!

by Amanda MacGregor

December 2022

The Difference Between YA and NA, a former teen now new adult reader perspective

by Amanda MacGregor

December 2022

Post-It Note Reviews: Quick looks at 9 new titles

by Amanda MacGregor

October 2022

Reclaiming Queer History, a guest post by James Brandon

by Amanda MacGregor

October 2022

I Wrote a Book About the Pandemic. I'm Scared No One Will Want to Read It, a guest post by Sara Saedi

by Amanda MacGregor

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

2023 Caldecott Jump

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Cover Reveal: This Book Is Banned – The Latest from Raj Haldar (With a Helpful Q&A for Spice)

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Recent Graphic Novel Deals, Early Mar 2023 | News

by Johanna

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Love, Family, and Mental Health, a guest post by Rajani LaRocca

by Amanda MacGregor

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Pronouncing Kids’ Names Correctly Matters. Here’s How to Get it Right.

37 Kidlit and YA Titles in Honor of Hispanic Heritage Month

Duke MDs’ Prescription for Schools? Masks, with Enforcement, and Psychological Support for Teachers, Students.

21 Books About Children and their Names

8 YA BookTubers To Watch Right Now

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023