the last of the really great whangdoodles

i used to be a pretty avid reader. now it seems i go through only phases where my nose is constantly in a book. i also always feel better and more accomplished when i am in one of these phases. time is much better spent reading a book than having your eyeballs glued to a computer screen to useless things like facebook and blogs! ah. at least i'm blogging about books i suppose.

as i said, when i was younger, i was a really avid reader. in fact, so much, that i was in a book club of sorts called 'battle of the books'. its kind of one of those funny childhood memories, a bit nerdy, but definitely worthy of some level of bragging rights. i think. with a group of four people, there was a two page list of books that you had to read, and memories titles and authors. then you went to 'battle' and questions would be asked about the book and you hate to state the book name and author, or vice versa. many a good books were on that list and not just children books.

however, one childrens book that will forever remain a favourite  is last of the really great whangdoodles, by julie andrews edwards. amazing right?! as if she wasn't children's idol already - being marry poppins and mary from the sound of music - she also created one of the greatest childrens books ever.

my parents bought me this book only a few years ago for my birthday because i mentioned that i really wanted to re-read it.

they ended up finding a beautiful hardcover first edition of the 1974 novel. 

the book is about 3 siblings who befriend a professor who makes them really see the world around them so much that they are able to see a tunnel to another land where they meet an assortment of strange creatures and overcome various trials that test their judgment and character. they eventually help the last of the really great whangdoodles by giving him a wife and restoring the whangdoodle's faith in humanity. the book is chockablock full of good morals for children along side exciting imagery like purple trees that are scented like various types of baked goods and golden rivers that sing with harmonies when disturbed!

it is decided that this is a bedtime story for my future children.