Reading Quest: Orcas of the Orwell

What if you could communicate with a whale? Rio has been sent to live with a grandmother he barely knows in California, while his mum is in hospital back home. Alone and adrift, the only thing that makes him smile is joining his new friend Marina on her dad's whale watching trips. That is until an incredible encounter with White Beak, a gentle giant of the sea changes everything. But when White Beak goes missing, Rio must set out on a desperate quest to find his whale and somehow save his mum.

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 adventure in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all.

Graceful and serene, intelligent and social, the whale is a wonder of the deep blue sea. And yet, whales rely on air to breathe - they are mammals, just like us. With breathtaking text, Smriti Prasadam-Halls explores the migrations, songs and family life of these mysterious creatures, revealing astonishing facts you've never heard before. Wildlife illustrator Jonathan Woodward brings the marine world to life with stunning papercut collage artwork.

It's the first day of summer holidays and Finn can't believe his marine biologist mum is dragging him and his little brother Jesse off to miserable, rainy Scotland to study the whales that live there. Finn longs to be somewhere hot, lying by a hotel pool with his headphones on. He's sick of his mum's work, and of the knot in his stomach that tightens whenever he thinks about her hopeless cause - beautiful sea creatures endangered by a plastic-polluted ocean. But when a girl with binoculars round her neck and a dog at her heels takes Finn and Jesse to her secret lookout point, Finn soon finds himself swept up in an unforgettable adventure. But can he find hope too?

A snail longs to see the world and hitches a lift on a whale's tail. Together they go on an amazing journey, past icebergs and volcanoes, sharks and penguins, and the snail feels very small in the vastness of the world. But when the whale is beached in a bay, it's the tiny snail who saves the day.

Dive and drift with Little Turtle as he embarks on an undersea adventure and discovers all sorts of marine life. Packed with Yuval Zommer's gorgeous illustrations, tons of creatures to spot, and fun onomatopoeia words to read out loud, this chunky board book is perfect for any child who loves the sea. Join Turtle for a swim around the ocean, and meet ten species of sea life, from flying fish to an enormous whale. The book finishes with a peaceful scene, perfect for bedtime reading.

When a tiny whale calf is born, his mother raises him to the surface to take his first breath. She guides him as he grows, until he is strong enough to swim at her side, and they set off together on a great journey across the oceans. One day, the time will come for the grown calf to set out on his own - but wherever he goes and whatever he does, his mother will be waiting for him and sending her song of love across the oceans. Filled with beautiful, luminous artwork, this picture book tells a universal story about love and family that's perfect for readers young and old.

Meet Gigantic, the smallest blue whale in the Atlantic. Dwarfed by the other whales, Gigantic keeps to himself, making new friends and perfecting his somersaults and flips in the bay. But one day when Gigantic's brother, Titan, gets stuck on the sand, it's down to Gigantic and his smallest sea creature friends to save the day. Can they show it's possible to be tiny and tough?

Noi and his father live in a house by the sea. Noi's father works hard as a fisherman, and Noi often has only their six cats for company. So when, one day, he finds a baby whale washed up on the beach after a storm, Noi is excited and takes it home to care for it. He tries to keep his new friend a secret, but there's only so long you can keep a whale in the bath without your dad finding out. Noi is eventually persuaded that the whale has to go back to the sea where it belongs, but now very much aware of his son's loneliness, his father helps and in the weeks that follow the whale's return, finds time to do more with him.

When a majestic whale is stranded near their Scottish hometown, Tulsi and Satchen are determined to save it. But after their boat capsizes in a storm, they're left dangerously adrift. Just as all seems lost, help arrives from an unexpected source. An adventure with a powerful eco message at its heart.