Mary Grace Whalen

The Legend of Eddie the Whale Mary Grace Whalen

Do you know the secret of bala, mala, whala? Eddie is a wise old whale and a much-loved legend for hundreds of years in this beach community. Eddie is a North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), a species that is threatened with extinction. A young boy named Louie travels from his home in New York City to the beach and assumes what he witnesses along the way is just part of an ordinary day. A woman's act of generosity when she sees a man who is homeless. An elderly man in the subway playing a joyful tune on his saxophone in the subway station. A young girl who is Deaf and her mother communicating in American Sign Language. Children joining hands on the playground. It is only when Louie learns the secret of bala, mala, whala that he realizes how important it is for us to join hands and celebrate the diversity and richness of our human existence with compassion, love, kindness and joy.