Customer Reviews

The Whingdingdilly

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Bill Peet's THE WHINGDINGDILLY was our very "unbookish" oldest son's favorite book as a child. At age four he wanted my wife or me to read it to him over and over again. (And he enjoyed pronouncing the title of the book when he asked.) By age six or seven he was reading it to himself and his younger brother. To him there was something absolutely captivating about it. My theory is that, because our oldest son was adopted, from an early age he had unverbalized concerns about his identity. And THE WHINGDINGDILLY is about identity, and being happy with who you are. This child is now 31 and recently had the pleasure of introducing his older daughter to this great book (a present from her grandparents!).

Created by classic former Disney artist Bill Peet, Whingdingdilly is a fun and beautiful book featuring an endearing hero, Scamp the dog. Scamp, unhappy with being a "plain" dog, wishes to be more interesting in order to attract attention and be more popular. A disastrous encounter with a witch turns Scamp into a fantastic creature known as a whingdingdilly, which has to be seen to be believed. During the course of his adventures, Scamp learns that popularity isn't all it's cracked up to be and that he is loved for just being himself. Filled with Bill Peet's wonderful artwork, this is an absolutely charming book that belongs in everyone's collection of books for young readers.

Bill Pete's Whingdingdilly has achieved the intellegint and odd writing of works by Dr. Seuss and combined them with the full and rich drawings of an accomplished artist. There is a warmness to this story in the friendship between an odd-looking beast and a curious boy that Dr. Seuss's work simply does not compare to.

This story was fantastic, just like all the others by Bill Peet that we have read so far! My 2 girls and 2 boys have very different tastes in books, but Bill Peet tales never fail to delight all of them. He is one of our "safe" choices - the author we reach for at night, and one of the shelves we always visit at the library! Other Bill Peet titles we'd recommend are Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent, Encore for Eleanor, and Kermit the Hermit. These are great stories, more involved and interesting than most, with surprising twists and turns. They have a lesson to impart without being preachy, and the characters are fantastic!

It's a shame that every book store that I have entered has neglected to carry this fantastic author! This book was a favorite of mine growing up and I never even knew of Bill Peet's other stories! My neighbors have never even had the pleasure of knowing who this fantastic author is. Now that I am a mother, I am filling our library up with his wonderful books. And I hope that I will be able to introduce all the neighborhood kids to Bill Peet's books as well.

Wonderful pictures! (The author and illustrator used to work for Walt Disney). My children love this story about a dog who wishes to be more glamorous, but in the end is so happy to just be himself.

This is one of my favorites from my childhood, and I look forward to sharing the story of the Wingdingdilly with my baby boy. It's Bill Peet at his finest - his stories are touching, with teachable morals, while still being utterly engaging. Moving, funny, and brilliantly illustrated - just what you expect from him.

I loved Bill Peet books as a child, and I still really like them today. I recently bought the whole set so that my children will have them, and realized that I remember every character and every plot from 20+ years ago when my parents read them to me. They really made an impact on me. The illustrations are cute and captivating, the characters are engaging, the stories and well told, and each book has a meaning. There are few authors who can create such a fine balance in childrens' books.

Another great bedtime story from this timeless author. Bill Peet is a master story teller, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it to my boys. I am sure they will be reading it to their own children one day! It's a keeper!