The last of the really great whangdoodles

Oh my gosh! What a wonderful book! Even though this can be a "light fantasy read" for kids 3rd through 5th grades, it has so many other levels that adults can appreciate. The main message is that as people get older and rely more and more on technological and scientific advances, the more they

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forget how to be imaginative. And only through imagination can anything ever be started. Wow. Even though it was wrtiten in the 70's, the book survives the test of time and is highly relevant today. Highly recommended!
~Mel

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This fantasy oozes voice from Julie Andrews! Not only can you hear her character from Mary Poppins, but the plot begs to be analyzed in various writing activities. What a gem for teaching descriptive writing or sequence!

Lindy, Ben and Tom meet a crazy professor who tells them about a creature called a Whangdoodle who lives in a place that can only be reached through imagination; the children and the professor set of on an adventure to find that last of the Whangdoodles. The characters are superbly developed and

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easy to picture as your friends, I would personally like to meet a Whiffle Bird. The plot is broken into three sections but each chapter has a mini cliff hanger to keep readers interested. The setting is meant to be imagined and the book has a lot of description to help readers create their own Whangdoodland. This would be an excellent book for a public library for upper elementary and early middle school readers.

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This is my favorite book from childhood. It is part Willy Wonka, a bit of Harry Potter (though it was written before Potter). It is one of Julie Andrews' (of singing/acting fame)first novels, along with Mandy.

Just another edition of my favorite childhood book!

Julie Andrews as she is known to most is a beloved children's author, the type who gets re-read, at least by my children. This book was read to them at camp, and they insisted on hearing it again from parents, and then in reading it themselves (or at least the boy did). Rarely are there actresses

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who are also wonderful singers who make such a perennial contribution to the literature of late childhood. It would be as though Lewis Carroll was earlier known for starring in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and going toe to toe with Edwin Booth in drama as well. I know my timeline for this analogy might not be on point, but that's the gist of it. Julie Andrews is not the mere product of some publicity machine. She is a gifted artist who deserves her popularity. Her facility with writing reminds me of J. K. Rowling - the purists may disdain it at first, but eventually they come to see the power behind that rush of well-chosen words.

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I would love to be Lindy at the end was the best part for me Oh i wonder how happy the whangdoodle felt.

This is such a classic children's fantasy book! I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to read it as a kid, but I am glad that I found it later on. It seems like it would make a really great read-aloud to a group of students. As often seen in children's fiction, a lot of it is really

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convenient, parts of it are really predictable, but it all makes for a great story, and there are some great suspenseful bits along the way. There are a lot of smaller conflicts that quickly get resolved, under the umbrella conflict of finding the Whangdoodle, and then the greatest conflict of all that isn't revealed until near the end. A really cool part of this book is its exposition to vocabulary through the Professor's narration. I'm really glad we didn't get the cop out "it was all a figment of their imaginations/a dream" ending. I'm also really glad that in the end, it's a story about the Professor and the realization of his dream, rather than a focus on the kids, although they are still a big part of the story. There are parts of the book near the ending that do get a little preachy, but it's still a fantastic fantasy read for kids and their parents/teachers.

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This is one of my all-time favorite books. I've read my copy more than two dozen times and it never gets old. I wish Ms. Andrews would write a sequel. I highly recommend this book for adults as well as younger ones.

Julie Andrews may have had her singing voice stolen from her, but she has another voice... this is a great book, imaginative, heartfelt, and colorful.

Pretty good for an actress

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles was an amazing book of its era. I encourage all children through elementry school to read this. It is great because it has easy meanings which everyone gets and also a lot of deeper meanings which may be harder too.

This book is about these three children who go to a mythical land to save the endangered species, the wangdoodles. It is good for students because it shows them how to be helpful to those in need, even if it is a risky thing to do.

Ben ,Tom,and Lindey meet a Proffesor at the zoo. At Halloween They meet him again. Then they start practice to get to the wangdoodle. When they finally sucseed the Proc is getting more and more in there way. Hard work and they finally get to see him. Shortly after the Professor try's to make

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another Wangdoodle. Does he sucseed? You will have to read and find out.

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I loved the descriptions in this book. She used lots of color- words. Definition for 'miracle' on pg. 125.

A very short little book that took me almost a month to read - that kind of tells the story. I had read so many good reviews of this book, and I absolutely loved the author's book Mandy , so I was very disappointed that this one couldn't hold my attention. I know that Julie Andrews Edwards has a

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line of books that fosters imagination, and it is very apparent that is what is trying to happen in this one. I guess I'm too old to appreciate it, or maybe I should have been wearing a "scrappy cap" while reading. Hopefully elementary and middle school kids can still appreciate it, although it is a little dated (1974, I think) and the word "gross" was way over-used.

Areas of concern:
Nothing. There were parts that were trying to build tension, but didn't really succeed, so it would be good for all ages. Even a read-aloud for younger elementary students.

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This will always be a favorite of mine. I absolutely adore the book. It's a really great adventure with three charming children, especially Lindy. She's just adorable. And the Professor is awesome. And Whangdoodleland is awesome. The High-Behind Splinter Cat is awesome. Everything is awesome.

Maybe

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the reason I love it so much is because it's basically a piece of my childhood, but I don't think that's all. I really think it's just a great little fantasy adventure, and it has so many great lessons to teach everyone about imagination and belief and everything. I strongly recommend it to readers of all ages.

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great book!! especially one for parents to read as a bedtime story.

Yes, this is a children's book, but it has no illustrations so you can let your imagination soar. This is intentional, per the author, Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, The Julie Andrews). It is an imaginary adventure story that asks the reader to use their imagination to picture what is

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happening.

Siblings Ben, Tom and Lindy Potter live a regular life of school and family. After they meet Professor Savant their lives become exceptional as they join the professor on his quest to meet the Whangdoodle who lives in Whangdoodleland.

In order to go on the quest, the children have to learn to see things in a new and different way. Professor Savant coaches them in preparation for their trip. Their senses become key to being able to get around in Whangdoodle land. The plants, creatures and appearance of the countryside require a keen imagination. There are kind creatures and there are scary creatures, especially the 'oily' Prock, the sinister Prime Minister of Whangdoodleland, who is determined to keep people away from meeting the last of the really great Whangdoodles.

This would be a fun book to read silently or out loud. The age bracket is 8 - 12 years.

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A delightful fantasy by singer and actress Julie Andrews, all about the power of imagination of belief. Its hard to find but worth the effort.

My very favorite childhood chapter book! My 3rd grade teacher read it to me, and I will read it to my 3rd grade class. :)

This started off well, I liked the idea of whangdoodle land, but as it progressed I started doubting its suitability for kids.
First of all, it's quite phallic, whangdoode for instance contains two euphemisms for male genitalia.
Then there's the whole thing of these kids going to some land with a

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random man they do not really know, quite alarming ot be honest.
And the whangdoodle himself was rather creepy - and the cloning thing? Even creepier and a rather weird turn.
I don't know how I feel about this one. It's a shame, I was hoping it would like the Phantom Tollbooth...

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