Whales in the City

By: Nancy F. Castaldo, Chuck Groenink

Narrated by: Tara Novie

Whales in the City features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment. Listen out for the sounds of New York City and the songs of whales!

For fans of If Sharks Disappeared, this kid-friendly audiobook is a true story about how community action saved the whales of New York Harbor and reversed the effects of climate change.

Spanning from pre-colonization to today, learn how the industrial revolution, overfishing, and pollution drove whales away from New York Harbor and the Hudson River by the early 20th Century.

But the story doesn’t end there.

Passionate citizens were able to band together and clean up the harbor through activism and legislation. The first whales were spotted in the Hudson after over 100 years in 2019!

Here is an uplifting environmental success story full of towering skyscrapers and underwater dramatics that highlights the power of community—voicing to readers of all ages that each of us can make a difference. Also includes information on whales and water pollution around the country.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Critic reviews

"Citizen activism takes on industrial pollution in the Hudson River and makes way for whales to return to New York Harbor in this historical picture book." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

"In Groenink’s art, humpbacks arc with sinuous grace through sludgy (later sparkling) waters... A sincere record of an environmental success story." —Kirkus