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Amos and Boris
Amos the mouse and Boris the whale: a devoted pair of friends with nothing at all in common, except good hearts and a willingness to help their fellow mammal. They meet after Amos sets out to sea in his homemade boat, the "Rodent," and soon finds himself in extreme need of rescue. Enter Boris. But there will come a day, long after Boris has gone back to a life of whaling a...more
Other Format, 32 pages
Published
September 1st 1988
by Perfection Learning
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Dec 04, 2010
Lisa Vegan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all kids; gifts for friends
Recommended to Lisa by:
Kathryn
Oh, I can’t believe this gem of a book has been available for nearly 40 years and I’m finding it (thanks to Goodreads’ friend Kathryn) only now. I just loved it.
This is the story of an adventurous mouse, and he gets into trouble on his ocean voyage and meets up with a whale. Amos the mouse and Boris the whale have a lovely friendship, including helping one another in each of their times of need. It’s a very sweet friendship story. Both mammals, one living on land and one living in the sea, each...more
This is the story of an adventurous mouse, and he gets into trouble on his ocean voyage and meets up with a whale. Amos the mouse and Boris the whale have a lovely friendship, including helping one another in each of their times of need. It’s a very sweet friendship story. Both mammals, one living on land and one living in the sea, each...more
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What business do a whale and a mouse have becoming friends? None, some would say; yet Amos and Boris together somehow form one of the truly beautiful friendships in the recent history of literature. Their connection is one of symbiotic ponderance, in which they talk with each other about their mutually exclusive habitats and, linked together, see the majesty of the world around them through eyes that neither has on his own.
Amos, the mouse, meets Boris, the whale, under far less than ideal circ...more
Amos, the mouse, meets Boris, the whale, under far less than ideal circ...more
William Steig was enthusiastically recommended to me years ago by a relative, for my children, and we now have a number of his books. One of my favourites is Amos & Boris, where an industrious little mouse sets off on an intrepid voyage across the sea, with unexpected results.
The mouse (Amos) builds himself a boat, studies navigation, and then stocks it up with all kinds of useful provisions, including a compass, sextant, cheese, biscuits...and a needle and thread for mending torn sails! Ho...more
The mouse (Amos) builds himself a boat, studies navigation, and then stocks it up with all kinds of useful provisions, including a compass, sextant, cheese, biscuits...and a needle and thread for mending torn sails! Ho...more
Apr 19, 2012
Sue Pak
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
distance,
math,
science-literature-poetry,
ecosystem,
survival,
habitats,
classification-of-animals,
ocean,
force,
friendship,
measurement,
prediction,
time
I absolutely love this book. The moment I read this, I thought it was a sad book; however, I knew that I had to buy this book. It is such a good read.
This book can be used for a VARIETY of purposes.
It is great to talk about what animals need to survive. Food chain, force (push and pull), weather--hurricanes, classification of animals, survival/extinction. It also briefly mentions how the mouse can swim about a mile, but to swim a thousand miles would be difficult to do so. So this book could b...more
This book can be used for a VARIETY of purposes.
It is great to talk about what animals need to survive. Food chain, force (push and pull), weather--hurricanes, classification of animals, survival/extinction. It also briefly mentions how the mouse can swim about a mile, but to swim a thousand miles would be difficult to do so. So this book could b...more
Didn't know until later, though maybe I read too much into it, that this was an allegory for a friendship I had (the friend being the one who gifted me that book in the first place). Its about adventure and taking risks and finding friends. Its silly and lovely and still makes me a bit weepy at the end.
Amos the mouse builds a ship that he takes out to sea. When he is struggling to stay afloat after a storm wrecks his ship, Amos meets Boris the whale. The two discover that they are both mammals and Boris promises to take Amos back to his home shore. Safely home, Amos tells Boris he will return the favor and help his new friend someday, but both wonder how a little mouse could possibly help such a big whale. After some time, a storm leaves Boris struggling to get back to sea on the same shore wh...more
Amos and Boris tells the story about a mouse and a whale's unlikely friendship, in a twist on Aesop's fable of the Lion and the Mouse. When Amos the mouse takes a journey out at sea, his boat tips him into the water and Boris the whale kindly helps him get back to shore. During the journey they become good friends. When Amos promises to someday return the favor, Boris laughs, but many years later, when he finds himself beached in the sun, he has reason to be grateful for the mouse's friendship.
S...more
S...more
Amos, the mouse, sets his boat, Rodent, to sail on September 6. He is enchanted by the wonders in the ocean and falls out of the Rodent. Soon after falling he meets Boris. Boris the whale rides him to home in the length of one week. They become good friends in the process. Amos says that he will help him if ever he can. Boris finds this hard to imagine but still loves his friend.
Years later, Boris is hurt on the beach and needs back in the water. Amos gets the help of strong elephants to get hi...more
Years later, Boris is hurt on the beach and needs back in the water. Amos gets the help of strong elephants to get hi...more
This is a story about a mouse who winds up floating in the ocean and befriending a whale. The whale helps the mouse reach the shore and later on in the story, the mouse finds a way to help out the whale. There are many point in the story in which you could discuss with students types of animals (mammals, etc) as well as their habitats (the whale makes the point of saying that the mouse does not look like he belongs in the water). Towards the end of the story, there is a good example of force and...more
Feb 06, 2011
Ronyell
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Ronyell by:
Kathryn
I have been reading William Steig’s works ever since I was little and now I have just recently read his most heartwarming book yet, “Amos and Boris.” “Amos and Boris” is a children’s book by William Steig which is about a small and adventurous mouse named Amos who finds a friend in a huge whale named Boris when Amos was lost at sea and Boris saves his life. “Amos and Boris” is truly a beautiful children’s book that will be an instant favorite among children for many years!
Oh my goodness! I have...more
Oh my goodness! I have...more
This is an adorable book that touches every subject area. Science is included in it's talk of classification of living things, force and motion, weather, habitats, survival, and extinction. Social studies pops in their in the form of geography. Math in integrated in that it compares distance. The story is also very heart warming and could bring comfort to students who may be moving away or if a student's friend has moved away and they are very sad about it.
Recommended grade level: K-5
Recommended grade level: K-5
Nov 30, 2010
Kathryn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-picture-books
I loved this book! It's one of those that defies review, because I can't quite put into words what touched me so deeply about this. It's a tale of an unlikely friendship, between an adventuresome mouse and a whale who finds him when his little ship is wrecked. They learn from one another, and the friendship opens their eyes to things in the world they would never have noticed on their own. Others may not be so touched by the ineffable warmth and wisdom I felt in this tale, but for me it's a trea...more
Dec 01, 2010
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
This is a wonderful tale of friendship and karma. The two friends, Amos and Boris, meet by chance and form a friendship for a lifetime, even though Amos must live on land and Boris must live in the ocean. Another chance encounter strengthens the bonds of their friendship.
I picked this out because of my Dad and I love the fact that the story is as old as I am.
We have enjoyed other stories by William Steig - we loved Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and read it over and over. We also really enjoye...more
I picked this out because of my Dad and I love the fact that the story is as old as I am.
We have enjoyed other stories by William Steig - we loved Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and read it over and over. We also really enjoye...more
Maybe the only reason I have undying love for this book is because of nostalgia. Maybe it's also because William Steig is a magical author and illustrator who has a way of telling a story that is simple, unpreachy, delightful, and achy in that intense-joy-and-sadness-existing-simultaneously kind of way. If I ever have a baby I'm buying a hundred copies of this book and putting them through the food processor so I can blend them into her baby food every day.
Amos and Boris is a book about the friendship of a whale and a mouse and their good and bad times at sea and even on land. The illustrations, while very basic, lend quite a helping hand to see the predicaments they both get themselves into as well as providing a bit of fun to the read. The book teaches tolerance and that friends come in all shapes and sizes. I liked it but it certainly was not one of my favorites.
I think one of my favorite children's books ever. The adventurous rat's boat sinks while he's sailing the world--he's saved by a whale and they spend time together and make friends while the whale takes him to shore on his back. They have a sad goodbye, but a few years later, the whale washes up on shore and the rat has the opportunity to save the whale's life. A great story about unlikely friendship!
This is not one that I would normally chose, but was recommended by some students. It is LOOONNNGGG for a read aloud, but the classes I read it to were surprisingly riveted. I read it FAST and made it in 10-12 minutes. Almost all of the classes clapped at the end. The writing is kind of choppy, antiquated and redundant in places, but I think that it is well loved because it is a good story.
I loved this story. The story is about a great friendship between a mouse and a whale. This book is great to understand different animal's needs as well as their habitats. The book could also be used in math to help students to understand the concept of a mile and measurement. Also the book compares the weight of the wale to the weight of the mouse.
Just read this story of a mouse and a whale with my kids and asked what they thought of it. My 7-year-old son said it was adventurous and fun and my 6-year-old daughter said she liked how the pictures looked so real. My 4-year-old didn't really pay attention. I thought it was a cute book with just the right amount of suspense for kids to enjoy.
One of the reasons we enjoy Steig's books so much are his splendid illustrations, and because much of this story takes place in the middle of the ocean, there's only so much water one can look at. The story is very sweet, with lessons of loyalty and friendship, but it doesn't move the way something like Sylvester and the Magic Pebble does.
This is one of the sweetest childen's stories ever! Two unlikely friends in Amos and Boris end up helping each other out, one in the ocean and the other on land. The story is really charming, and the illustrations are very cute. There's a nice lesson in this book for children, but it'll make adults smile too!
It's no secret, I LOVE William Steig books. This charming picture book is a sweet tale of two unlikely friends, Amos the mouse and Boris, the whale. The story follows their friendship from an unlikely beginning to a sweet finish many years later that demonstrates how wonderful lifelong friends can be.
May 06, 2013
Emma
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
picture-books
“One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all.”
This is a great book to teach children about friendship and how not to selfish. I believe the moral of the story is that it does not matter how big or little you are, you can always find a way to help another and be a true friend. A book that I will definitely have in my classroom.
Science Fiction:
This book is wonderful when talking about habitats and teaching children why certain animals can or cannot live in some habitats. This books has good scientifically information all wrapped up in a cute story! This book is wonderful for good for all grades.
This book is wonderful when talking about habitats and teaching children why certain animals can or cannot live in some habitats. This books has good scientifically information all wrapped up in a cute story! This book is wonderful for good for all grades.
A wonderful story about the importance of long lasting friendship. This story tells us of Amos the mouse and Boris the whale and although they are completely different sizes, they are still able to help each other. A great story to teach friendship and compassion.
Mar 02, 2009
Anna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s-picture-book-favorites
Another classic -- the relationship of two unlikely mammals- a mouse and a whale, filled with adult vocabulary and fabulous illustrations telling the age of tale of how friends can help each other, regardless of size or outward appearance.
Jun 13, 2011
Charlotte
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
1001-children-s-books-you-must-read
"He began to wonder what it would be like to drown. Would it take very long? Would it feel just awful?"
Amazing! This story, of two mamamals from very different walks of life, somehow manages to be both dark and uplifting.
Amazing! This story, of two mamamals from very different walks of life, somehow manages to be both dark and uplifting.
Apr 19, 2012
Angela
added it
Grade: 2-5
Topic: Habitats, needs of living things, food chain
This is a tale of friendship that knows no bounds. Two friends wind up having to part ways because they simply cannot live in the same environment.
Topic: Habitats, needs of living things, food chain
This is a tale of friendship that knows no bounds. Two friends wind up having to part ways because they simply cannot live in the same environment.
Sweet re-imagining of The Lion and the Mouse, but including a story of friendship (I get the impression that although the Lion and Mouse helped each other out and respected each other, they weren't really close pals).
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teachers' Book Club: Text Complexity | 1 | 16 | Sep 14, 2011 01:14pm |
William Steig was born in New York City in 1907. In a family where every member was involved in the arts, it was not surprising that Steig became an artist.
He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.
Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer...more
More about William Steig...
He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, embarking on a new and very different career.
Steig's books reflect his conviction that children want the security of a devoted family and friends. When Sylvester, Farmer...more
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