Books : The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles 30th Anniversary Edition

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Great fantasy read
This book is a great display of imagination and creativity...but my dictionary does not have any entry for "whangoodle"...then again, it also does not have an entry for "disestablishmentarianism". My 10-yr old daughter & I love reading this, and I've noticed my 14-year old son listening in as well!

Rating:

- The Last of the really Great Whangdoodles 30th Anniversary Edition
I brought this book for my god daughter and i wanted to read it first so she was able to come to me to talk about the book. It is a wonderfully well written book that allows the reader to open their minds to pure imagination, where nothing can stand in your way. Julie Andrews Edwards has produced an amazing book that i would recommend to any age group! Even us big children at heart. The use of words is very different from what you see now a days and she hasn't tried to 'dumb it down' for children it talks to them as though they were they stood in front of the professor learning his teachings. The book was brilliant fun to read and i can not wait till my god daughter starts to read it.

Rating:

- A delightful tale
I would say that I'm very much like Professor Savant. I need a dose of the imagination of a child to help me along the way. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles was the kind of book I would have loved reading as a child. I would have read it over and over again savoring each nuance of color and flavor that this book has to offer. As an adult, I feel that there are some lessons in the story that seem a bit forced but the concept that the imagination is a powerful tool is a good reminder for kids of all ages.

It is the story of the three Potter children who meet Professor Savant at the zoo one day and then later again on Halloween night. He tells them about a mysterious creature called the Whangdoodle. They're not sure whether to believe him or not. But he offers to train them so they can go to Whangdoodleland and meet the last of the Whangdoodles.

The professor teaches the children how to perceive and imagine more deeply than they had before. Lindy, the youngest, learns most quickly. But soon they all put on their 'scrappy caps' and take several journeys to this land of imagination. They find many wonders and a few dangers along the way.

I was worried that the book would falter in the end. But it was quite an interesting way of wrapping things up. The message voices many of the questions we have about life now even though the book was written more than 30 years ago.

This is a well-written book full of wonderful detail and an engrossing story. I recommend this for any child and more than a few adults who need to revisit the imagination of their childhood.

Rating:

- Mary Poppins writes a book. Read it out loud, it's a memory maker!
I first heard this story in 4th grade. We had a student teacher from Penn State. She would come in and turn off the classroom lights and we would all sit on the big rug in the room and quietly listen to her read The Last of The Really Great Whangdoodles. I have never, ever forgotten it.

If I had one book for kids to read to my own children, it would be this one. Children meet a professor who needs their help. He puts these magical caps on their heads and they spin off into Whangdoodle Land. The scene with the boat, which I will not spoil for you, is my very favorite part! I will just say magic...ice cream...wow!

Okay, if you are looking for a great book to read out loud, something whimsical and something that they will remember forever, it is this book. It gives the youngest sibling a feeling of being ultra special. It gently shows an older sibling how to protect their younger sibs. But no, that is not the point of the book, not at all. It is just whimsy and excitement and wonderful.

It was not until I was much older that I found out that this was written by Julie Andrews. Mary Poppins was my favorite movie for years, so to find out she wrote this was wonderful.

Enjoy it!

Rating:

- Say No to Snoozers and Read Something Fun
You know, when I think about books written by celebrities, I think, "Oh gosh, another attempt by a publishing company to make some big bucks through the use of an over-hyped name with no writing talent behind it." Thankfully, Mrs. Andrews was able to write a pretty good book. It's quite fun and imaginative, even if its ideas bear some similarity to the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film at certain points.

I noticed that during some scenes - the bike scene in particular - the narration alternated between simply worded sentences and complex metaphorical descriptions constructed from vocabulary a college graduate may not know. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the style does seem to waiver somewhat in a few places, and could have been polished up a bit.

But, if you're like me, you'd take a fun unpolished story over a perfectly polished snoozer any day. It's too bad that most books out there are more like polished snoozers than anything else. No wonder lots of kids don't want to read. At least Julie Andrews knows how to make a fun and engaging story, filled with all sorts of fantastic visions. I mean...we see purple trees, a giant cat, a musical river, some ten-legged monsters, a train made of clouds, a VERY fluffy bird, and the Whangdoodle himself seems to be some kind of chameleon-moose with slippers growing out of his feet. If ever I've seen a cotton-candy book, this is it.

When Hollywood's looking for ideas for movies (which they probably are doing now after Snakes on a Plane) it couldn't hurt them to peer into this Whangdoodle book. Talk about something I'd like to see!

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