There really is a whale named Crystal, and he lives in the North Atlantic. He is grown up now, old enough to join other male humpbacks as they compose famous songs. In 1980, though, Crystal was just a baby when he was first seen – and names – by whale researchers at Stellwagen Bank in Massachusetts Bay.
Like a human infant, a young whale spends its first year growing, exploring, and discovering. Crystal has much to learn about the seemingly endless ocean that is his home, and about the other creatures that share his world. He and his mother move with the seasons from the balmy waters of Silver Bank, int he Caribbean, north to the summer feeding grounds of Stellwagen Bank. Crystal finds beauty in the songs of his fellow humpbacks. He finds danger too, when he is trapped and nearly drowned in an abandoned fishing net. This is the story of Crystal's memorable first year, vividly told by Karen Smyth and sensitively illustrated by Normal Cuneo.
