''Whale Adventure'' is a

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

children's book by the Canadian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author

Willard Price Willard DeMille Price (28 July 1887 – 14 October 1983) was a Canadian-born American traveller, journalist and author. Early life Price was born to a family of devout Methodism, Methodists in Peterborough, Ontario. When he was four years ol ...

featuring his " Adventure" series characters,

Hal and Roger Hunt Hal and Roger Hunt are fictional characters appearing in the children's '' Adventure Series'' novels, by Canadian-born American author Willard Price. The sons of a world-renowned animal collector John Hunt, Hal and Roger have grown up alongside ...

. The novel depicts Hal and Roger's journey on a whaling ship with anachronistic, nineteenth century features such as harpooning by hand,

hard tack Hardtack (or hard tack) is a simple type of dense biscuit or cracker made from flour, water, and sometimes salt. Hardtack is inexpensive and long-lasting. It is used for sustenance in the absence of perishable foods, commonly during long sea voy ...

, the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

, and keel-hauling. Price borrows the setting and many key events from Herman Melville's '' Moby-Dick''.

Plot

A scientist travels in the ship as a passenger. The captain of the ship does not agree to accommodate any more passengers, so the only way the boys may go on the journey is to join the crew. Roger defends a captured

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...

against a group of sharks and later a pack of killer whales. This novel also explain how clever killer whales are. The captain of the ship is a ruthless man who tortures and punishes the crew. He is beaten by Hal in a hand-to-hand fight. When an old sailor, who is

keelhauled Keelhauling (Dutch ''kielhalen''; "to drag along the keel") is a form of punishment and potential execution once meted out to sailors at sea. The sailor was tied to a line looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and d ...

as a punishment, is eaten by a shark, the crew takes the control of the ship, confining the captain and his henchman in the cage. In the end of the story, their ship was destroyed by a sperm whale and they were saved by a modern whaler with a whale-spotting helicopter. 1960 American novels Novels by Willard Price Jonathan Cape books 1960 children's books Fiction about whales Children's novels about animals {{Canada-novel-stub