When eight-year-old Kirstie and her family go beachcombing near their home in Scotland, she finds something that looks like a giant fish egg, which...
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reviews
Dec 14, 2011
When Kirstie and her little brother Angus discover a strange egg, they take it home to see if it will hatch. What they discover is something extraordinary - a water horse.
With the help of their family, the two children name the water horse Crusoe and keep him. It isn't long until Crusoe is growing bigger and bigger and at more risk of being noticed.
Can they keep the water horse safe or will he be discovered?
I decided to purchase the audio book of this novel fo More...
With the help of their family, the two children name the water horse Crusoe and keep him. It isn't long until Crusoe is growing bigger and bigger and at more risk of being noticed.
Can they keep the water horse safe or will he be discovered?
I decided to purchase the audio book of this novel fo More...
Oct 17, 2011
Ashton
rated it: 
Genre: Fantasy Junior Book
Summary: When Kirstie decides to take what looks like a giant mermaid’s purse up to her house to keep, she did not expect to hatch a water horse. With the help of her brother Angus, her grandfather Grumble, her mom and her dad, Kirstie works hard to feed and care for her new pet, Crusoe.
Critique: a) Being a fantasy book means bringing in a magical aspect to the story. A fictional, mythical creature, a water horse, is one of the main characters in this book. More...
Summary: When Kirstie decides to take what looks like a giant mermaid’s purse up to her house to keep, she did not expect to hatch a water horse. With the help of her brother Angus, her grandfather Grumble, her mom and her dad, Kirstie works hard to feed and care for her new pet, Crusoe.
Critique: a) Being a fantasy book means bringing in a magical aspect to the story. A fictional, mythical creature, a water horse, is one of the main characters in this book. More...
Mar 03, 2011
Giannina
rated it: 
I finished this last night. I started it about 3 days ago and never got around to finishing it because I was kind of disheartened that I didn't have The Stray by DKS, too. But after Jeralyn bought it, I guess it kind of motivated me to finish this book. And finish this book, I did!
03-02-11, 11:52PM--
Aww. The Water Horse is such a nice story. I thought, while going into it, that it would be a boring story (hell, I even slept a while ago while reading it), but after reading it.. Gos More...
03-02-11, 11:52PM--
Aww. The Water Horse is such a nice story. I thought, while going into it, that it would be a boring story (hell, I even slept a while ago while reading it), but after reading it.. Gos More...
Dec 11, 2009
Ben
rated it: 
The story has no serious conflict, other than the family's struggles to hide a happy sea creature from a nosy world. It mostly just follows the water horse as he grows from the size of a man's hand to the legendary Loch Ness Monster. Sorta Bambi-ish in that sense. But it was a pleasure to read. Reminded me of when the swordtails in my tropical fish tank had babies. Exciting as all get out.
Sep 26, 2009
Katie
rated it:
Set in the 1930s, the story of a brother and sister who live by the sea in Scotland with their mother, her father whom they call Grumble, and their sailor father, who is often away for long periods. After a storm they find an object which turns out to be a kelpie or water-horse egg, and out of it hatches what is obviously meant to be the Loch Ness Monster as a baby. They secretly raise Crusoe (as they name it) -- which involves all kinds of problems as it gets bigger and bigger -- and they hav
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Jan 01, 2008
Heather
rated it:
This is one of those rare times when the book and the movie are both worth the time, and different beasties from one another.
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Mar 26, 2009
Rachel
rated it:
I enjoyed this book, it was a cute tale. Here's my review of it:
The Water Horse is a fanciful tale of two children named Kirstie and Angus, who one day after a storm find an enormous egg sac on the beach next to their house. They decide to keep it and bring it into their bathtub and it hatches into what their grandfather, nicknamed Grumble, calls a water horse or kelpie. They decide to call him Crusoe after the famous fictional explorer and as he grows bigger, they need to transfer him More...
The Water Horse is a fanciful tale of two children named Kirstie and Angus, who one day after a storm find an enormous egg sac on the beach next to their house. They decide to keep it and bring it into their bathtub and it hatches into what their grandfather, nicknamed Grumble, calls a water horse or kelpie. They decide to call him Crusoe after the famous fictional explorer and as he grows bigger, they need to transfer him More...
May 11, 2009
Holly
rated it:
Very sweet and funny book. It's the story of a sea monster that is raised as a pet by a Scottish family in the 1930's. I read the book a couple of years ago, and we recently borrowed the audio version from the library and listened to it on a car trip. The kids loved it. In fact, the story was so much fun that the adults stopped talking so that they could listen too.
Also, this was one of the read-aloud stories for my kindergartener's class. The teacher reported that the kids loved the More...
Also, this was one of the read-aloud stories for my kindergartener's class. The teacher reported that the kids loved the More...
Apr 16, 2011
Logan
rated it:
another clear winner from King-Smith. I love reading his books aloud. His dialog is so natural and the stories are full of humor and humanity. He reminds me a bit of E.B. White. This story is about a brother & sister who find a "mermaid's purse" on the beach, take it home, and put it in the bathtub. But what hatches out is anything but a dogfish! Their grandfather, Grumble, is delighted and they spend the next couple of years caring for and protecting their water horse. The best charac
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Jun 23, 2008
Barbara
rated it:
This book wins the prize for shortest period of time between me watching the movie and finishing the book. I watched the movie on a flight between Jo’burg and London, and noticed it was based on a book by Dick King-Smith, one of my favorite authors when I was a kid. The movie ended, the plane landed, and a couple of hours later, I came across the book while browsing in a W.H. Smith in Heathrow. As it was under 100 pages long, I proceeded to read it right there in the children’s book aisle.
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Mar 29, 2009
Taylor
rated it:
a young boy named Angus and his sister Kristie were looking at a beach one day looking for some shells. And Kristie found a beautiful blue and shiny egg. She exlaimed "Angus Come Quick" and he came and thats when it started it all. The egg happend to be a water horse, and that water horse grew and grew very tall. Pretty soon he grew so tall they had to release him into the lake. Angus was very sad that they have to let him go. that him was named Chruso. This book was sad but very good!
Aug 01, 2010
Zixuan
rated it:
This book has a not-so-great beginning but a fantastic ending. After reading it, readers would feel curious as to what happens next to the water horse. What I did not enjoy of the book is the major conflict. First of all, it's nothing serious and the results of the conflict is very predictable. But, overall, it's a very pleasant for if you don't have much time on your hands and you feel like reading something short.
P.S. This book would be great for younger children.
P.S. This book would be great for younger children.
Jan 25, 2012
Michele
rated it:
Genre: Fantasy
Grade level: 5th
Reading level: easy
Because of the movie I was curious about this little book. You can read it in no time and it would be great to read aloud to a younger sibling. The storyline is gentle and fun and could lead to discussions about whether the Loch Ness Monster really exists or not.
Grade level: 5th
Reading level: easy
Because of the movie I was curious about this little book. You can read it in no time and it would be great to read aloud to a younger sibling. The storyline is gentle and fun and could lead to discussions about whether the Loch Ness Monster really exists or not.
Apr 20, 2009
Seth
rated it:
I and Charlie just finished reading this book. It was a great book to read to a 4 yr old Child. I would not necessarily suggest it for an adult however. The story was simple and clean and wrapped up nicely. There were just enough illustrations to help Charlie stay focused. A great book to read to a child, but maybe not to read for your self.
Oct 03, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
Kirstie finds a strange object washed up on the shore near her home in Scotland after a storm. The eight-year-old puts it in her bathtub, and out hatches a tiny sea monster. With help from her little brother, Angus, and her grouchy grandfather, Grumble, she raises the creature (dubbed "Crusoe") as he gets bigger. And bigger. And bigger. The characters are fun, including Crusoe, whose point of view is given in some of the story. Younger kids probably won't understand that this is a
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Sep 24, 2010
Sharon
rated it:
Pleased to see the whole family in on the adventure of raising a sea monster from egg. Surprised at the ending but shouldn't have been. My seven-year-old grandson saw the book cover and asked me to read it to him. Good story for mid-grade boys or girls.
Jan 23, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
I enjoyed this classic tale of the water horse. I listened to it on audiobook being read by a Scotish man which gave the story so much more character! A perfect book for young children! Then of course you have to tell them the story of the Loch Ness "monster".
Nov 13, 2010
Allison
rated it:
This was a really fantastic book. We saw the movie when it came out and loved it. I have to say that based on the movie, I thought the book would be much longer and frankly, more complex. What a delight that 3rd, 4th and 5th graders could read this story and really get in to it and appreciate it as fully as older children did the movie. With that said - the book and movie are VERY different elementally speaking. This would be one of those great books to assign where it would be blatantly obv
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Jan 28, 2010
Heather
rated it:
This was a pretty good book execept it was kind of kiddy. Well it was about this boy who finds this egg, so he puts it in his garage type thing. Then it hatches and it ends up being a water horse. That means it is an animal that is supposed to be in the water and it grows to an EXTREME size. So he takes it to the local lake and some people its the lock ness monster because its in Scottland. Then the people call the army and they try to kill it.
Sep 19, 2008
Deirdre
rated it:
Can't wait to start this one with Aidan. The movie seemed made for him. He keeps pretending he has a water horse living in our tub now.
ETA: well, we fininshed it a month or more ago, and I wish I could say we loved it. I think the switch from the brother as the main protagonist to the sister was difficult for Aidan. I was glad to see the whole war/romance subplot done away with (why do movies demand every child have a dead parent?), but this is one that would have been better if we h More...
ETA: well, we fininshed it a month or more ago, and I wish I could say we loved it. I think the switch from the brother as the main protagonist to the sister was difficult for Aidan. I was glad to see the whole war/romance subplot done away with (why do movies demand every child have a dead parent?), but this is one that would have been better if we h More...
Apr 17, 2011
Dawn
rated it:
My kids loved this. It lead to lots of fantasy play, including bringing a rock home from the beach that they kept in a bucket of water because they thought it might be a Curouso's egg.
Jul 02, 2008
Ginny
rated it:
The movie The Water Horse was based on this simple children's book. Photos from the movie are included. But the storyline is much different. You don't have to feel sorry for the poor little boy. And the story of a monster in the lake is much more believeable. The movie takes place during war times and the boy's father is away. The army comes to take over their house to take it over and "protect" the waters. There is much fear and gunfire in the movie. The children's book is jus
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Aug 20, 2010
Olean Public Library
rated it:
-A cute story
-A great tale of a water horse being found unhatched and how the family who found it became closer. Grumble learned to smile again, the children learned great responsibly and grew as Crusoe did.
-Definitely a bit of whimsy and fantasy, it tells of a boy’s care and devotion to a one of a kind, rapidly growing creature. It also describes a warm family relationship in a harsh environment
- A great story about Loch Ness, an interpretation of what people More...
-A great tale of a water horse being found unhatched and how the family who found it became closer. Grumble learned to smile again, the children learned great responsibly and grew as Crusoe did.
-Definitely a bit of whimsy and fantasy, it tells of a boy’s care and devotion to a one of a kind, rapidly growing creature. It also describes a warm family relationship in a harsh environment
- A great story about Loch Ness, an interpretation of what people More...
May 10, 2009
Hasanuddin
rated it:
Monster Lochness, diceritakan dalam berbagai versi. Water Horse mengisahkan persahabatan monster dengan anak kecil. Persahabatan yang absurd namun indah dan tulus...
Mar 26, 2009
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it:
Cute! This is one of the better children's books featuring Nessie that I've read. My other favorite is Peter Dickinson's Emma Tupper's Diary.
Sep 01, 2011
Clare
rated it:
A very gentle story which offers something new for avid young readers who don't need pace and action to hold their interest.
Apr 28, 2009
Sherri
rated it:
Another good recommendation from Jim Trelease. We had fun reading this together and will probably see the movie this summer.
Jan 27, 2009
Teresa
rated it:
All I can say is that the book was much better than the movie, and I liked the movie ok. Very good book for boys.
Nov 09, 2009
Melanie
rated it:
It was cute, but there wasn't the usual growth and learning that people (or animals) have in Dick King-Smith books.
