Wind Riders: Whale Song of Puffin Cliff

Illustrated by Marta Kissi

“This wasn’t the biggest whale he’d ever seen, but it looked heavy. Would they be strong enough?”

The fourth book of the Wind Riders series takes Max and Sofia to the country of Iceland, where they are tasked with saving not one species, but two. As Wind Rider approaches shore, Max and Sofia notice a boy and a girl walking along the black sand beach. The strangers introduce themselves as Gunnar and Agnes, twins who are proud members of the local Puffin Patrol. They all travel to the nearby puffin colony where they are met with a worrying sight: the entire area is littered with plastic garbage. But before they get a chance to do anything about it, the group encounters yet another problem. On the sandy beach below, they spot a giant beluga whale stranded on land. With so many big issues, the team will need to rally the help of others.

While the other books in the Wind Riders series have Max and Sofia primarily working with a single other youth activist, Whale Song of Puffin Cliff differs through its strong emphasis on collective action. The initial four characters (Max, Sofia, Gunnar, and Agnes) quickly realize that they are not going to be able to move the massive whale on their own, so they enlisted the help of the rest of the Puffin Patrol members. This act of teamwork highlights a key theme of the book, which is the power of collaboration. Similarly, another point that the book highlights is the global nature of environmental issues. As the Puffin Patrol discusses the plastic pollution issue, they note “…Iceland cut down on its plastic. But it still floats here from other countries…” This alludes to the idea that environmental issues are often a shared problem that require global efforts to address. By bringing in a wider community, the characters demonstrate that no task is too big when people come together to work toward a shared goal.

Although the Puffin Patrol takes action to clean up the trash in the puffin burrows, it’s clear that the fight against plastic pollution won’t be solved in a single day. This point is reflected in the book’s closing scene, where Max and Sofia, now back on their own beach in Starry Bay, are inspired to continue the fight by launching a new clean-up operation of their own and recruit two other kids to help them get started. Sofia remarks on how difficult the task seems, but “[t]hen she remembered how they had helped the beluga and the puffins. That’s how we’ll do it, she thought with a smile. One piece of plastic at a time.” This final message from Sofia reminds readers that even the smallest efforts can lead to a significant environmental impact.

©2026 ClimateLit (Alexandra Delacruz)

More:

  • Whale Song of Puffin Cliff is the fourth book in the illustrated chapter book series Wind Riders. See reviews for other books here.

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2022

Audience: Ages 4-7, Ages 8-13

ISBN: 9780063029392

Pages: 128

Format: Novels

Topics: Activism, Clean-up Operations, Collective Climate Action, Conservation, Kinship Care, Plastic Pollution, Recycling, Single-Use Plastic, Wildlife, Youth Climate Activism