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The Whale in My Swimming Pool
by
One sunny day, a little boy heads outside for a swim, but his pool is already taken . . . There's a big whale in the water and it's not budging! The boy tries everything to get the whale to leave. Nothing seems to work. Not fetch. Not tag. Not even offering his allowance. What's a boy to do? Luckily, he comes up with the perfect solution: he decides to chill out on a spray
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Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
April 7th 2015
by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
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5/5 For teaching kids how to properly handle whale carcasses stuck in your kiddie pool.
Cute tale of a boy attempting to get a whale to vacate his kiddie-pool.
Loved the surprise ending!
Loved the surprise ending!
One of my favorite summer reads, this picture book is a very funny and silly story about a boy who rushes out to his backyard for a swim only to find a giant whale in his kiddie pool. He begs and pleads with the whale, he tries bribery and trickery, he pushes with all his might, and finally even attempts lifting the whale out with a crane. Nothing works. The whale, smiling contentedly all the while, simply won’t budge. Just when the boy is about to give up in frustration, he uses some creative t
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Current repeat read — reminds me of don’t let the pigeon drive the bus, but recent and more applicable material? She keeps saying “here, fishy fishy fishy” now!
Jan 03, 2018
Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
books-we-read-to-kairi,
2018picturebooks
Quite cute and imaginative. Brief, with only a sentence or so per page making it a good choice for a toddler storytime. A boy goes out to play in his little pool to discover a whale lying on top of it. He tries to convince the whale to leave, but, then the boy figures out a way to enjoy the pool with the whale in it. The books wraps up with the boy heading off for a nap only to find a bear in his bed.
I just love Joyce Wan's illustrations. Her books make excellent toddler board books, just the r ...more
I just love Joyce Wan's illustrations. Her books make excellent toddler board books, just the r ...more
Me: "What would you do if you saw a whale in your swimming pool?"
Storytime Kiddo: "I would kill it. My dad wants fresh meat."
Me: ...
Maybe don't be like me. Don't ask that question if any of your kiddos are from hunting families. Otherwise it's a hit! ...more
Storytime Kiddo: "I would kill it. My dad wants fresh meat."
Me: ...
Maybe don't be like me. Don't ask that question if any of your kiddos are from hunting families. Otherwise it's a hit! ...more
Update: I just read this aloud to my 7th graders, and they LOVED it! They thought it was really funny. (view spoiler)
Cute story. I like the perseverance of the little boy trying to get the whale out of his pool. Some humorous moments. Ending was fun. ...more
Cute story. I like the perseverance of the little boy trying to get the whale out of his pool. Some humorous moments. Ending was fun. ...more
I plan on using this book for my Toddler Time, I think they would get a kick out of a whale in a swimming pool. I think this book would also make a great read aloud book for preschool-kindergarten aged children.
A funny choice for storytime!
A cute picture book about how to make the most of unexpected challenges.
This book is so adorable! I def want to use it for toddler time. Whales or pools or swimming theme.
Sometimes you got to suck it up buttercup and take the good with the bad. Or maybe find good in every weird situation.
A silly book to read in the summer.
A whale in your swimming pool? It's just the beginning of silly fun when the boy in this book figures out how to get the whale out of his pool. Colorful, simple illustrations are great.
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Kaitlyn is a huge fan of Joyce Wan books. The colors are always so bright and cheerful. This book is whimsical and fun!
Another one we’ve had since Rowan was born. Not one of his favorites, but it’s consistently enjoyed, as the wear and tear confirms. I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t been completely destroyed yet. We’ll drop this one out of rotation for a week or two, then bring it back and he’s always here for it. One of those dependable staples.
Every kid’s book collection needs a clutch of titles like this. The top faves—even the amazing ones—can start to run you down and drive you crazy, after the millionth r ...more
Every kid’s book collection needs a clutch of titles like this. The top faves—even the amazing ones—can start to run you down and drive you crazy, after the millionth r ...more
“Race you to the pool!” says a young boy wearing red swim trunks. But what’s waiting in the pool, the small wading pool, but a large whale! When he screams to his mom that there’s a whale in his pool, she apparently doesn’t listen, since it’s so preposterous. She replies that having a whale is great and that he shouldn’t forget to apply sunscreen. The boy is confused as to whether to apply sunscreen to himself or the whale. Thus begins the many ideas the boy comes up with to get the whale out of
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Super fun book about being faced with a HUGE challenge, brainstorming, learning to compromise and making the most of just what is.
The illustrations are very cute and the kids loved the interactive parts of the book, the most FUN being the "closing eyes and counting" part.
The fact that the whale is in the swimming pool makes it a perfect summer book - and the cute and unexpected ending makes it a good bedtime story too. ...more
The illustrations are very cute and the kids loved the interactive parts of the book, the most FUN being the "closing eyes and counting" part.
The fact that the whale is in the swimming pool makes it a perfect summer book - and the cute and unexpected ending makes it a good bedtime story too. ...more
Definitely going to use this in a future storytime. It's a little silly but there are some awesome things in it that will help with interacting with the preschoolers. There's counting and silly suggestions and little funny things tucked in on the pages that, while small, are still large enough that most of the group will be able to see (for example...the shark fin in the pool next door.)
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My mom read this book to me while I was at the library and she loved it! The illustrations are really cute and the story is simple, but funny. A whale has taken over a child's kiddie pool and the mother doesn't even notice. A great board book that I, as a 2 year old, didn't quite get, but would be funny as I got older.
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This is a cute and funny book for littles that is sure to evoke giggles and inspire imagination play. The images are bright, simple, and cute. It has a subtle message of not giving up.
Picture book
Grades: PreK - 2
Ages: 3-7
Lexile Measure: AD460L
DRA Level: 14
Themes: summer, problem solving, sand & water play, creativity & imagination
Picture book
Grades: PreK - 2
Ages: 3-7
Lexile Measure: AD460L
DRA Level: 14
Themes: summer, problem solving, sand & water play, creativity & imagination
Very simple text and art which makes for a good read for some of the youngest readers. The art really reminds me of Hello Kitty - simple with bright colors. I did not think the text was very strong but that could be the point.
I enjoyed the graphics/illustrations in this book but there's not much plot or storyline to follow. I'm not looking for anything earth-shattering in a children's book but this was a bit too simple for the age it was produced for.
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Mar 14, 2019
Molly Cluff (Library!)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
toddler-tales,
covid-19-best-publishers
Even looking at this book makes me think of sunscreen and summer! A little boy wants to go play in his pool, but a whale is sitting in it (like a real whale). Very funny and absurd. Was a hit with our Toddler group.
Cute story, great illustrations.
I love this book's absurdity and well-constructed sight gags. Funny, entertaining text and illustrations.
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This book garnered lots of laughs at a swimming-themed storytime. Definitely a book I'd like to use again.
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My 3 year old found this book to be so funny. It was a requested over and over for story time.
It's just so, so, so... CUTE!
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Super adorable for young children.
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Award-winning author-illustrator, Joyce Wan, designed a greeting card when she was in first grade for a city-wide greeting card design contest. The design won first place and was subsequently sold through a major department store. Twenty years later, that design would inspire her to launch her own design studio called Wanart where she was creating greeting cards again. These greeting cards led her
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