Alex Gordon wrote this story when he was seven and a pupil of Waipu Primary Primary School. The story won the Tai Tokerau Literary Association Story Writing Award for Year 3’s in 2009. Inspiration for the story stemmed from when Alex, his brother and his father helped with the rescue of a mass stranding of pilot whales at Uretiti in 2006. Alex lives with his family on a farm near Waipu in Northland. Alex prefers writing fiction to non fiction. He also enjoys sport - especially rugby, fishing and music. The Illustrator, Carol King, is well known locally for her paintings in of landscapes and animals. She also lives in the Waipu area.