Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Young orca must grow up fast in exciting nature story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Living in Alaska's Salish Sea, young orca Vega grows up knowing she will someday be a leader in her family, with lots of responsibility. Like the rest of her pod, she faces many perils. In the past, her aunt and others were captured by humans. Huge motorized ships are everywhere. The polluted waters are affecting their health and keeping away the salmon they need to live. When a huge earthquake wreaks widespread destruction and flings the family apart, Vega must become A WHALE OF THE WILD and head for the open ocean -- something she's always been warned not to do -- to keep her little brother and herself safe.
Is It Any Good?
This exciting nature adventure is a highly relatable tale of a young orca taking care of her little brother after they're separated from their family by an earthquake. Forced to become A Whale of the Wild as she searches for her pod and tries to protect little Deneb, Vega must quickly grow from happy, curious youngster to strong leader as her world changes. Told alternately by Vega and Deneb, their story brings them many new experiences and unexpected connections -- and Lindsay Moore's lively, graceful illustrations drawn the reader even further into their world.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how orcas and other sea life portrayed in A Whale of the Wild. Does the story lead you to think that whales and humans have experiences and feelings in common, or are they completely different?
Have you ever been in an earthquake? What was it like?
In human years, Vega's about 11 and Deneb's about 5. If human kids their age suddenly had to fend for themselves after a disaster, how would their story be different or the same?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Lindsay Moore
- Genre : Animals
- Topics : Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Animals ( Ocean Creatures , Wild Animals ) , STEM
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Greenwillow
- Publication date : September 1, 2020
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 336
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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