Elizabeth, Queen of the Seas

Here's the incredible story of Elizabeth, a real-life elephant seal who made her home in the Avon River in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. When Elizabeth decides to stretch out across a two-lane road, the citizens worry she might get hurt or cause traffic accidents, so a group of volunteers tows her out to sea. But Elizabeth swims all the way back to Christchurch. The volunteers catch her again and again—each time towing her farther, even hundreds of miles away—but, still, Elizabeth finds her way back home. World-renowned swimmer and bestselling author Lynne Cox and illustrator Brian Floca team up to bring us this inspiring story of an elephant seal who knew exactly where she belonged. Includes back matter with information about elephant seals.

LYNNE COX is a legendary long-distance, open-water swimmer; the author of several books for adults, includingSouth with the Sun, Grayson (a New York Times bestseller), and Swimming to Antartica (aNew York Times bestseller); and a contributor to the New Yorker. She has set records for swimming all around the world, and in 2000 she was inducted into the Swimming Hall of Fame. Lynne first learned of Elizabeth's story when she traveled to New Zealand to swim across three lakes near Mount Cook. This is her first children's book.

BRIAN FLOCA is the Caldecott Medal–winning author/illustrator of Locomotive, which was also a Sibert Honor Book. He has written and illustrated many award-winning books for children, includingMoonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, a Sibert Honor Book and a New York Times Best Illustrated Book;Lightship, a Sibert Honor Book and a Booklist Top of the List; and The Racecar Alphabet, an ALA Notable Book and a Kirkus Reviews Editors' Choice. He is also the illustrator ofBallet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan, a Sibert Honor Book and winner of the NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children.