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List Price: $9.99 | | Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Salesrank: 54990
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| Our Price: $4.50 |
| Used Price: $6.08 |
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| Media: Paperback |
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Editorial Review:
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.
Description of I'm a Manatee: (Book & CD):
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
I'm a Manatee: (Book & CD) Reviews:
The Book and CD are fabulous, but why is there no Hardcover ed. 
2009-05-31 - This is by far my children's favorite John Lithgow book and song. It is funny, has a catchy tune and the illustrations are beautiful. My only problem is that I thought I was getting this in the Hardback edition, but it turns out they don't have one on Amazon.
I'm a Manatee - a grandchild's favorite 
2009-04-21 - Originally I got "I'm a Manatee" for free in a Cheerios box. My two year old grand daughter loved it so much, I bought the book and CD as a birthday gift for one of her little friends (who loves it as well). When I heard the CD I just knew my grand daughter needed to have it too - now we sing it together. Wonderful little book. Well illustrated. The CD makes it doubly enjoyable.
Maybe for older kids or grownups this would be alright 
2009-01-14 - I love manatees, and I love reading to my daughter so I couldn't pass this book up when I saw it at the book store. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The art is good, not great just good and the text is mostly meaningless rhyming of manatee with made up words (Manatee's eat raisin bran-atee). This is not useful if you are trying to teach your kids to read or increase vocabulary. Worse yet the plot of the story is told primarily through the illustrations which don't have all that much to do with the text. Probably this one is more fun for adults who enjoy reading nonsense than it is for kids, who I imagine would just be confused.
Manatee fun
2009-01-12 - I bought this book and CD for my 2-year-old for Christmas. The book's illustrations are very detailed and perfect for children. I played the CD after reading the book to my child and the tune was definitely a hit.
Absolutely brilliant!
2008-10-23 - "I'm a Manatee" is another hit from the talented Mr Lithgow, actor-singer-performer. His children's books are such a joy not just for the little ones that are his target audience but also adults. The writing in "I'm a Manatee" is absolutely hilarious - a potent combination of flawlessly rhyming text, wit and humor. The accompanying CD with Lithgow performing the song that accompanies the text is catchy and will have little ones and adults alike tapping their toes and singing along.
I find Lithgow's children's books to be building blocks for early literacy skills especially with the sing-alongs and read-aloud opportunities in the book and CD combo. I can't recommend them highly enough!
