"A Whale of a Tale!" *

Peg was born upon the bright blue sea. A big strapping lass, Peg isn’t one to do things in half measures. Anything she turns her hand to, she’s good at. But she wants more than that. She wants big, she wants better, she wants best. She wants to be the world’s best fisherman…

Now that Peg’s pushing seven, she figures it’s high time she caught herself a whale. So she packs up her fishing rod and signs on with the whaleship Viper..

Peg is ready to catch a whale. But is the whale ready for Peg?

* An ALA Booklist Editors's Choice& Canadian Children's Book Centre "Our Choice" Selection

In this humourous nautical tall tale, Kenneth Oppel and illustrator Terry Widener have created a feisty, independent child hero for the ages.

Kenneth Oppel writes: “I was living in Newfoundland when I had the idea for Peg and the Whale; I’ve always been drawn to the sea: I love the ocean, and boats, nautical lore, and seafaring tales. And now that I was living in one of the most famous fishing regions of the world, I decided to try my hand at a nautical tale of my own. I took my inspiration for Peg from the old sea shanty ‘Jack was Every Inch a Sailor’ and the Old Testament story of Jonah and the whale. Eventually I decided my character would be a girl, not a boy, and she would be the kind of kid who’s never fazed for a moment; for Peg, everything’s a plus and there’s no defeating her.”