The old man watched the pod of orcas leap and breach and smack their tail flukes against the water. And as he stood on the bluff, his heart leapt with the whales below. It seemed to him that there was nothing more wonderful than these great mammals of the sea. In this timeless story set on the West Coast, an old man lives alone on a bluff overlooking the sea and tends his garden. And waits. Only when the whales return each year to the bay in front of his cottage is his loneliness eased. One day, his daughter and her baby return home to live with the old man, bringing a renewed sense of purpose to his life. As his granddaughter grows, the old man passes on a wealth or knowledge and wisdom as well as his passion for the whales. And each year they wait together for the whales to appear. A gentle story that illuminates the unique friendship between grandparent and child, Waiting for the Whales also suggests that aging and death are only part of a greater cycle of rebirth and continuity. Sheryl McFarlane was born in the Ottawa Valley but was raised in Arizona. In 1972 she returned to Canada to visit her French Canadian grandparents and has been here ever since. She received her B.Ed. in Science and Canadian Studies from the University of British Columbia. Over the years, she has worked as a tree planter, farmhand, research technician and teacher. She loves gardening, a house full of children and the spell-check on her computer. Waiting for the Whales is her first book for children. Ron Lightburn is best known for his award-winning colored pencil drawings. Born in Coburg, Ontario, he was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia and attended the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. Settling in Victoria in 1975, he began a career as a commercial illustrator with commissions for a variety of international publications including books, magazines, posters and calendars. In 1991 he was selected to appear in the Society of Illustrators 33rd annual exhibition in New York, Illustrators 33. Ron and his wife share a passion for walking, old movies and chocolate cake.