"The Waterhorse" (book and movie)

Here's a delightful children's book set in 1930's Scotland that explores the world of "Kelpie" or "The Loch Ness Monster". This slim chapter book, written in 1990 by Dick King-Smith (of "Babe" fame)  is full of rich dialogue and interesting characters, one of whom is a beloved "monster". While the plot centers mainly around a family's attempts to keep the waterhorse, Crusoe, safe from his foes, it's simplistic plot is actually what makes it such an endearing story to share with children both young and old. 

The movie, released in 2007, is vastly different in plot, offering much more action and suspense, which works equally well. It's one of the rare instances where I've enjoyed a movie as much as the book. It can be streamed on Amazon for $2.99 (at the time of this post) or purchased on DVD for $8.99.

This story would work well in an elementary classroom as a literature circle selection, or as a read aloud. The book includes some of Crusoe's perspective, which would be a perfect springboard for a discussion on point of view.

The audio book, narrated by Nathaniel Parker (narrator of the Artemis Fowl series), is a wonderful companion to the printed book and would be a nice addition to a "listen to reading" station in readers' workshop.

"The Water Horse's" guided reading level, for those who need to pay attention to such things, comes in at a Fountas and Pinnell level Q or Lexile of 910.