The Wonderful Journey

The Hawaiian winter is over so the time has come for Kanani the baby Humpback whale to leave the warm tropical waters where she was born. Follow Kanani and her mother as they make their long journey northwards to the cold polar waters where they find food, and new friends. Meet other types of whales, and track her journey on the back cover of the book.

About the Author

Gill McBarnet is one of Hawaii's top children's authors. For nearly 20 years Gill (pronounced "Jill") has been writing and illustrating books with Hawaiian settings, and her words and delightful illustrations have inspired a generation of island youngsters and young visitors to Hawaii.

From a whale who wanted to be small, a brave little turtle, a bullying shark and geckos who like to play hide and seek, Gill has explored a host of Hawaiian themes with liveliness and humor. Her stories are entertaining, comforting, amusing and interesting, and even her earliest books have stood the test of time because a number are still best sellers in Hawaii. "The Whale Who Wanted to be Small", "Wonderful Journey", "Shark Who Learned a Lesson", "Brave Little Turtle" have all been best sellers, and "The Goodnight Gecko" (1991) and "Gecko Hide and Seek" (1993) are still amongst the top 5 best selling children's books in Hawaii. "Gift of Aloha" and "Tikki Turtle's Quest" are Gill's more recent titles, and "Tikki Turtle" was awarded the Ka Palapala Po'okele "Excellence in Children's Books Award" for 2001. Gill was born, raised and taught elementary school in Zimbabwe, but she and her husband Terry and 3 children Eddie, Will and Tara live on the "valley isle" of Maui, Hawaii, where Gill still draws inspiration for herstories from the people, animals and lifestyle that surrounds her.

Take a look in some of Gill's books, to see how effectively she conveys Hawaiian images, mood, story, humor, information along with a sense of the magic of childhood.