I'm a Manatee: I'm a Manatee - Hardcover

Lithgow, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689854277 ISBN 13: 9780689854279

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2003

Synopsis

From time to time
I dream that
I'm a manatee,
Undulating
underneath
the sea

A little boy dreams of becoming a manatee, and what a dream it is! With his new gigan-atee manatee proportions, he sets off on an underwater adventure with his manatee friends.
Join John Lithgow and Ard Hoyt on this silly aquatic escapade, then sing along with John, who performs "I'm a Manatee" on the enclosed CD.

About this title

Review:

Not blessed with the adorable good looks of a koala, the mythic mystery of a dinosaur, or even the useful familiarity of a dog, the manatee is an infrequent hero in the world of children's literature. It doesn't help matters that the poor thing has a name that's so difficult to rhyme. But the unnamed hero of John Lithgow and Ard Hoyt's I'm a Manatee (really, a boy dreaming he is a manatee) sees plenty of upside to the life of the animal that's been indelicately nicknamed the "cow of the sea." And when rhymes are unavailable to state his case, he simply makes some up: "Encumbered by my lumbering gigan-atee,/ I'm thought to be an ocean-going brute!/ The least appealing creature on the planet-ee,/ But to a manatee, I'm cute!" The words in the book are the same as the lyrics in the song version of I'm a Manatee, which is included on an enclosed CD featuring a singing Lithgow as well as in musical notation in the back of the book. The verses sound more natural in their original musical form than they do read aloud in the pages of the book where they can clunk a bit. Still, there's much to like about in this aquatic flight of fancy, including the kind of wordplay moms and dads will enjoy (very few kids' books contain the phrase "immune from human folly and inanity") and Hoyt's illustrations of the title animal, which manages to be simultaneously homely and adorable. (Ages 4 to 8) --John Moe

About the Author:

John Lithgow is the New York Times bestselling author of I Got Two Dogs; Mahalia Mouse Goes to College; Marsupial Sue Presents: The Runaway Pancake; I’m A Manatee; Micawber; Marsupial Sue; The Remarkable Farkle McBride; and Carnival of the Animals. An award-winning actor, he has starred on stage, film, and television. He performs concerts across the country and has recorded the CDs Farkle and Friends, Singin’ in the Bathtub, and The Sunny Side of the Street. Visit John at JohnLithgow.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0689854277
• ISBN 13: 9780689854279
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Hoyt Ard