Eight-year-old Kahu, a member of the Maori tribe of Whangara, New Zealand, fights to prove her love, her leadership, and her destiny. Her people claim descent from Kahutia Te Rangi, the legendary "whale rider." In every generation since Kahutia, a male heir has inherited the title of chief. But now there is no male heir, and the aging chief is desperate to find a successor. Kahu is his only great-grandchild--and Maori tradition has no use for a girl. But when hundreds of whales beach themselves and threaten the future of the Maori tribe, it is Kahu who saves the tribe when she reveals that she has the whale rider's ancient gift of communicating with whales.

Now available in simultaneous hardcover and paperback editions.

Feature film in theaters in June 2003!

威提·依希馬埃拉(Witi Ihimaera)，一九四四年齣生於新西蘭吉斯本。威提·依希馬埃拉是以英語寫作毛利文化的先驅者。一九七二年齣版的《綠岩綠岩》(Pounamu Pounamu)是毛利人所著的第一本短篇故事選集，一九七三年的《葬禮》(Tangi)則是毛利人所著的第一本小說，也贏得當年的Wattie文學奬。之後又以傢族史詩小說《女族長》(The Matriarch)和《吉普賽女王》(Bulbasha, King of the Gypsies)兩度獲得新西蘭的濛大拿年度好書奬(Montana Book of the Year)。至今已發錶八部長篇小說，五部短篇集，亦涉足舞颱劇、交響樂編寫、編刻和童書寫作。他以自己獨特的文化傳承為榮和書寫重心，數十年來熱情推廣毛利文學及文化，對提拔後進亦不遺餘力。威提·依希馬埃拉曾擔任外交官多年，現任教於奧剋蘭大學，教授英文、毛利文、太平洋文學與寫作。