Ein Mädchen lebt die Legende. Eine Herde Wale strandet an der Küste Neuseelands. Koro Apirana, der Stammesführer der Maori, ist verzweifelt. Er glaubt an ein Zeichen. Jahrtausendelang war die Beziehung seines Volkes zu den Walen tief und ehrfurchtsvoll, denn der Sage nach ritt einst der Urvater auf dem Rücken eines mächtigen Wals an Land. Wer kann die heiligen Tiere retten und Koros Volk Stärke und Stolz zurückgeben? Niemand denkt an Kahu, seine Enkelin, die das Leid der Wale nicht länger erträgt ... Ein magisches, weises Buch über die Verbundenheit von Mensch und Tier, die Leben spendende Kraft der Tradition und über ein junges Mädchen, das neue Hoffnung in ihre Welt bringt.

A timeless story of the courage of one Maori girl who stood against the tide of tradition and enabled her tribe to reconnect with their ancestral life force. The film adaptation of "Whale Rider" brings the story to an international audience.

Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny when hundreds of whales beach themselves and threaten the future of the Maori tribe. Basis for the 2003 feature film.

An international bestseller that was made into a multiple award-winning film. Eight-year-old Kahu craves her great-grandfather's love and attention. But he is focused on his duties as chief of a Maori tribe in Whangara, on the East Coast of New Zealand - a tribe that claims descent from the legendary 'whale rider'. In every generation since the whale rider, a male has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir - there's only Kahu. She should be the next in line for the title, but her great-grandfather is blinded by tradition and sees no use for a girl. Kahu will not be ignored. And in her struggle she has a unique ally: the whale rider himself, from whom she has inherited the ability to communicate with whales. Once that sacred gift is revealed, Kahu may be able to re-establish her people's ancestral connections, earn her great-grandfather's attention - and lead her tribe to a bold new future.