Kidnapped by pirates, young Dionysus turns his cold-hearted captors into friendly dolphins.

In this memorable first book, Behind the Dolphin Smile, Richard O'Barry told the inspiring story of his personal transformation from world-famous dolphin trainer (Flipper was his pupil) to dolphin liberator. Now, in To Free a Dolphin, he passionately recounts the dramatic story of his heart-breaking campaign to release captive dolphins back into the wild. With wit and insight he chronicles the extreme opposition he has faced from bureaucrats, major players in the captive-dolphin industry, rival wildlife groups, and well-meaning sentimentalists. He introduces readers to famous show animals he has helped, including Bogie and Bacall of Key Largo. And, most fascinating, he describes his struggles to deprogram and rehabilitate dolphins emotionally scarred from years of captivity--struggles that become battles for the animals' souls.

Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kep beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches. Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply. More than this, it is an adventure of the spirit that will haunt the reader long after the book has been put down. Karana's quiet courage, her Indian self-reliance and acceptance of fate, transform what to many would have been a devastating ordeal into an uplifting experience. From loneliness and terror come strength and serenity in this Newbery Medal-winning classic.

“This powerful exploration of how we become human and how the soul endures is a song of beauty and sorrow, haunting and unforgettable.” —School Library Journal (starred review) A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year An ALA Best Book for Young Adults A Book Links Best Book of the Year A New York Public Library Children’s Title for Reading and Sharing Mila becomes famous around the world when she is rescued from an unpopulated island off the coast of Florida. Years ago, Mila went missing from a boat crash, and she has been raised by dolphins from the age of four. Researchers teach Mila language and music. But she also learns about rules and expectations, about locked doors and broken promises, disappointment and betrayal. The more Mila finds out about what it means to be human, the more she longs for her home in the ocean . . . “As moving as a sonnet, as eloquently structured as a bell curve, this book poignantly explores the most profound of themes—what it means to be human . . . All together, a frequently dazzling novel.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Her mind and spirit shaped by the dolphins who raised her, a feral child views herself and her human captors from a decidedly unusual angle in this poignant story . . . A probing look at what makes us human, with an unforgettable protagonist.” —Kirkus Reviews “Mila’s rich inner voice makes her a lovely, lyrical character.” —VOYA Magazine

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Inspired by a profound experience swimming with wild dolphins off the coast of Maui, the bestselling author of The Wave set out on a quest to learn everything she could about dolphins—the other intelligent life on the planet. “Part science, part memoir, part impassioned plea for change.” —People Susan Casey’s journey takes her from a community in Hawaii known as “Dolphinville,” where the animals are seen as the key to spiritual enlightenment, to the dark side of the human-cetacean relationship at marine parks and dolphin-hunting grounds in Japan and the Solomon Islands, to the island of Crete, where the Minoan civilization lived in harmony with dolphins, providing a millennia-old example of a more enlightened coexistence with the natural world. Along the way, Casey recounts the history of dolphin research and introduces us to the leading marine scientists and activists who have made it their life’s work to increase humans’ understanding and appreciation of the wonder of dolphins.

What if whales and dolphins truly do have a superior intellect, as many believe, and can speak to the human race? What would their message be? In November 2008, gifted clairvoyant Patricia Cori was in Jordan teaching a workshop when a life-changing event occurred. A community of Cetaceans—“a choir of whales and dolphins,” as she describes it—interrupted her talk with a frantic plea for help. Cori was suddenly witness to a devastating scene of suffering, a communal grieving of scores of whales and dolphins “frenzied, lost, and dying.” This was the first of several terrifying calls for help, all of which were immediately followed by mass suicide events as these majestic creatures collectively chose to leave us and our planet. These troubling incidents evolved into the stream of messages for humanity that Cori reveals in this extremely timely work. The whales and dolphins present their deep understanding of our urgent global situation, calling for the human race to restore balance to our ecosystems—especially our dying oceans. For the first time, we read the communications of the Cetaceans and their story of devotion and celebration of life on the Great Planet Earth. We are also given a glimpse of their role in the unfolding of galactic events throughout our solar system, and the message is clear: We must wake up and realize that our continued abuse of the environment is altering the course of Gaia’s progression to the next dimension. Without the whale and dolphin song—without these musicians who hold the oceans in balance—we risk our advancement through the ascension process for which our entire solar system is destined. Before We Leave You is a roadmap to that higher future and a pathway to global transformation. ***NOTE: ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS TITLE DOES NOT INCLUDE THE CETACEAN MEDITATIONS CARDS INCLUDED IN THE REGULAR PRINTED VERSION.