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The Whingdingdilly
The creator of this whimsical fantasy featuring 'The Whingdingdilly' Bill Peet consistently combines excellent storytelling with enduring illustrations, which makes him one of the most popular picture book creators of our time.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
6 people are currently reading
505 people want to read
About the author
Bill Peet
53 books232 followersBill Peet was an American children's book illustrator and a story writer for Disney Studios. He joined Disney in 1937 and worked on The Jungle Book, Song of the South, Cinderella, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, Goliath II, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Dumbo, Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and other stories.
After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.
After successes developing short stories for Disney, Peet had his first book published, Hubert's Hair Raising Adventure.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
August 29, 2019
I am loving Bill Peet’s stories and I will look for more of them. He is so playful and he has that Disney flavor. He was an artist at the Disney studios for most of the big movies there and worked on them. He has a good ear for dialogue and his artwork is so playful and fun.
We see Zildy, a witch, as a character in this story and she looks closely like the Mad Madam Mim from the Sword in the Stone. She isn’t mean here, but just as funny.
The story is about a Dog, Scamp. He is jealous of all the attention the Percheron horse gets and he wants to be a horse. One day he runs off and finds himself at the witch’s house. Zildy turns him into a Whingdingdilly so that now he is the rarest animal and people will want to see him. It turns out Scamp does not like being stared at all day in a circus. He is miserable.
Things aright themselves in a most delightful way. Zildy is wonderful. I also like the rhyming words used in her spells. That’s fun to say. This is a bit longer and totally worth reading.
The nephew loved this story. He loved the witch and he loved the Whingdingdilly monster. He thought this was a funny story and he gave this 5 stars. The niece did not read this book sadly.
We see Zildy, a witch, as a character in this story and she looks closely like the Mad Madam Mim from the Sword in the Stone. She isn’t mean here, but just as funny.
The story is about a Dog, Scamp. He is jealous of all the attention the Percheron horse gets and he wants to be a horse. One day he runs off and finds himself at the witch’s house. Zildy turns him into a Whingdingdilly so that now he is the rarest animal and people will want to see him. It turns out Scamp does not like being stared at all day in a circus. He is miserable.
Things aright themselves in a most delightful way. Zildy is wonderful. I also like the rhyming words used in her spells. That’s fun to say. This is a bit longer and totally worth reading.
The nephew loved this story. He loved the witch and he loved the Whingdingdilly monster. He thought this was a funny story and he gave this 5 stars. The niece did not read this book sadly.
September 11, 2021
Imagine being a child 6 years old and discovering this on the library shelf. What else could you do but take it home in giddy wonderment, launching your imagination to new creative heights with every re-reading?
Imagine being a parent 36 years old and discovering your local library doesn't own this title. What else could you do but spam the "Suggest Item for Purchase" link until they get their heads out of their asses and order it up along with every other Bill Peet book there is?
5 stars. In a word: transformative. Everyone deserves to read this wonderful book.
Imagine being a parent 36 years old and discovering your local library doesn't own this title. What else could you do but spam the "Suggest Item for Purchase" link until they get their heads out of their asses and order it up along with every other Bill Peet book there is?
5 stars. In a word: transformative. Everyone deserves to read this wonderful book.
July 15, 2009
4 ½ stars
Note: Bill Peet, author and illustrator, died at the age of 87 in 2002. All of his 34 books, including the first, published in 1959, are still in print today. In his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books, Peet created a menagerie of unforgettable characters. He had this to say about them: “I write about animals because I love to draw them. Most of my animal characters have human personalities, and some are much like the people I know.” Children from ages 4 – 8 love to listen to these stories, and some of them are inspired to read independently (and successfully), even though the vocabulary is quite sophisticated. I chose to review one book, in the hope that it will create an interest for this great author of picture books.
The Whingdingdilly is a story about the many adventures a dog called Scamp experiences in his quest to accept what he is – a story about identity.
Both the text and crayon (!) illustrations are rich in detail and colour. The expressions in the pictures and the colourful expressions in the print work harmoniously together to give a lively and vivid look into the world as seen by Bill Peet. The author was able to create very clear pictures of the central character, Scamp, in his aspiration to be like “Palomar, the wonder horse” and the mortification felt by the dog when his owner Orvie laughs at him for imitating the horse:
This sets the stage for Scamp running away and the subsequent adventures that are one of the hallmarks of Peet’s particular brand of storytelling. Scamp has no idea where he’s going, but he stops when he comes to a dense woods. He’d heard that a wicked little witch lived there who possessed the power to turn anyone into a stone or a toad. But Scamp was in no mood to worry about a little witch, so in he went. The imagery is such that the reader can’t help but be drawn into the scene; to actually feel how much cooler and spooky it is in there, and how quiet it is except for the burbling brook running through a jumble of rocks. And the reader can’t help but empathize with the poor, dejected dog as he trots from boulder to boulder beneath a black, overhanging canopy of trees. A little later, Scamp senses someone watching him, and the hair on the back of his neck bristles. It’s Zildy, the witch. “Why old Zildy can turn you into a horse in a twinkling,” she said, patting him gently on the head. “Oh, but I can do much better than that, doggy. How would you like to be something fantastic? The only one of its kind in all the world? A marvelous magnificent something I call a wingdingdilly? What do you say?” To cast the spell she spews nonsense words and rhyme in a smooth-flowing style, to transform Scamp into a hodgepodge of animal parts.
From there, Peet weaves in adventure after adventure until, in the end, with a blend of realism and fantasy, the tale is believable: the author has taken the story full circle, placing Scamp back into “dog-world”, where he can no longer communicate his feelings. But nor does he wish to: he is finally happy to be a plain, regular old dog.
In the end, both Orvie and Scamp have undergone a growth process in learning to appreciate themselves and the others around them for who they are. And the reader has learned a simple but powerful truth in a quite unique way.
And while Peet dressed up a simple plot by the use of rich detail in text and illustrations, he was also careful to create an atmosphere of security for the young reader or listener; through the use of foreshadowing, events unfold in such a way that the reader may actively make close predictions throughout the text.
The Whingdingdilly is dedicated to Rama, Bill Peet’s dog: In memory of a wonderful dog. Our library has 20 other wonderful books besides this one. If The Whingdingdilly isn’t immediately available, choose one of these:
• Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure (1959)
• Ella (1964)
• Randy's Dandy Lions (1964)
• Kermit the Hermit (1965)
• Chester: The Worldly Pig (1965)
• Farewell to Shady Glade (1966)
• Buford, the Little Bighorn (1967)
• Jennifer and Josephine (1967)
• Fly, Homer, Fly (1969)
• Wump World, the (1970)
•• How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head (1971)
• Caboose Who Got Loose, the (1971)
• Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock, the (1972)
• Ant and the Elephant, the (1972)
• Countdown to Christmas (1972)
• Merle the High Flying Squirrel (1974)
• Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent (1975)
• Gnats of Knotty Pine, the (1975)
• Big Bad Bruce (1977)
• Eli (1978)
• Cowardly Clyde (1979)
• Encore for Eleanor (1981)
• Luckiest One of All, the (1982)
• No Such Things (1983)
• Pamela Camel (1984)
• Kweeks of Kookatumdee, the (1985)
• Zella, Zack, and Zodiac (1986)
• Jethro and Joel Were a Troll (1987)
• Cock-A-Doodle Dudley (1990)
Note: Bill Peet, author and illustrator, died at the age of 87 in 2002. All of his 34 books, including the first, published in 1959, are still in print today. In his career as an author and illustrator of children’s books, Peet created a menagerie of unforgettable characters. He had this to say about them: “I write about animals because I love to draw them. Most of my animal characters have human personalities, and some are much like the people I know.” Children from ages 4 – 8 love to listen to these stories, and some of them are inspired to read independently (and successfully), even though the vocabulary is quite sophisticated. I chose to review one book, in the hope that it will create an interest for this great author of picture books.
The Whingdingdilly is a story about the many adventures a dog called Scamp experiences in his quest to accept what he is – a story about identity.
Both the text and crayon (!) illustrations are rich in detail and colour. The expressions in the pictures and the colourful expressions in the print work harmoniously together to give a lively and vivid look into the world as seen by Bill Peet. The author was able to create very clear pictures of the central character, Scamp, in his aspiration to be like “Palomar, the wonder horse” and the mortification felt by the dog when his owner Orvie laughs at him for imitating the horse:
This sets the stage for Scamp running away and the subsequent adventures that are one of the hallmarks of Peet’s particular brand of storytelling. Scamp has no idea where he’s going, but he stops when he comes to a dense woods. He’d heard that a wicked little witch lived there who possessed the power to turn anyone into a stone or a toad. But Scamp was in no mood to worry about a little witch, so in he went. The imagery is such that the reader can’t help but be drawn into the scene; to actually feel how much cooler and spooky it is in there, and how quiet it is except for the burbling brook running through a jumble of rocks. And the reader can’t help but empathize with the poor, dejected dog as he trots from boulder to boulder beneath a black, overhanging canopy of trees. A little later, Scamp senses someone watching him, and the hair on the back of his neck bristles. It’s Zildy, the witch. “Why old Zildy can turn you into a horse in a twinkling,” she said, patting him gently on the head. “Oh, but I can do much better than that, doggy. How would you like to be something fantastic? The only one of its kind in all the world? A marvelous magnificent something I call a wingdingdilly? What do you say?” To cast the spell she spews nonsense words and rhyme in a smooth-flowing style, to transform Scamp into a hodgepodge of animal parts.
From there, Peet weaves in adventure after adventure until, in the end, with a blend of realism and fantasy, the tale is believable: the author has taken the story full circle, placing Scamp back into “dog-world”, where he can no longer communicate his feelings. But nor does he wish to: he is finally happy to be a plain, regular old dog.
In the end, both Orvie and Scamp have undergone a growth process in learning to appreciate themselves and the others around them for who they are. And the reader has learned a simple but powerful truth in a quite unique way.
And while Peet dressed up a simple plot by the use of rich detail in text and illustrations, he was also careful to create an atmosphere of security for the young reader or listener; through the use of foreshadowing, events unfold in such a way that the reader may actively make close predictions throughout the text.
The Whingdingdilly is dedicated to Rama, Bill Peet’s dog: In memory of a wonderful dog. Our library has 20 other wonderful books besides this one. If The Whingdingdilly isn’t immediately available, choose one of these:
• Hubert's Hair-Raising Adventure (1959)
• Ella (1964)
• Randy's Dandy Lions (1964)
• Kermit the Hermit (1965)
• Chester: The Worldly Pig (1965)
• Farewell to Shady Glade (1966)
• Buford, the Little Bighorn (1967)
• Jennifer and Josephine (1967)
• Fly, Homer, Fly (1969)
• Wump World, the (1970)
•• How Droofus the Dragon Lost His Head (1971)
• Caboose Who Got Loose, the (1971)
• Spooky Tail of Prewitt Peacock, the (1972)
• Ant and the Elephant, the (1972)
• Countdown to Christmas (1972)
• Merle the High Flying Squirrel (1974)
• Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent (1975)
• Gnats of Knotty Pine, the (1975)
• Big Bad Bruce (1977)
• Eli (1978)
• Cowardly Clyde (1979)
• Encore for Eleanor (1981)
• Luckiest One of All, the (1982)
• No Such Things (1983)
• Pamela Camel (1984)
• Kweeks of Kookatumdee, the (1985)
• Zella, Zack, and Zodiac (1986)
• Jethro and Joel Were a Troll (1987)
• Cock-A-Doodle Dudley (1990)
April 17, 2010
Bill Peet is a genius. I’ve read several of his books now. They’re all a little different; they’re all excellent. The only reason I’m not giving this book 5 stars is there were some scary and sad parts that might be a bit too much for some readers/listeners, and almost too much for me. But, I unreservedly love Scamp the dog. What a wonderful character!
January 5, 2023
2023 - 1970’s Immersion Reading Challenge
The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet (1970) 60 pages.
AR POINTS 1.0 READING LEVEL 4.9
A cute little read teaching children that it’s best to just be who you are and not to envy others. In this case, Scamper the dog learned that it was no fun being famous and the center of attention, even more so than Palomar, the magnificent horse.
The Whingdingdilly by Bill Peet (1970) 60 pages.
AR POINTS 1.0 READING LEVEL 4.9
A cute little read teaching children that it’s best to just be who you are and not to envy others. In this case, Scamper the dog learned that it was no fun being famous and the center of attention, even more so than Palomar, the magnificent horse.
April 7, 2010
“The Whingdingdilly” is a beautiful and fantastic story from the creative mind of Bill Peet. Bill Peet’s witty writing along with his beautiful illustrations makes this story one of the finest children’s stories ever written.
Bill Peet has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this story with such creativity that will astound many children. This story is extremely heartwarming and exciting at the same time with Scamp trying to find his true self while trying to find his owner, Orvie at the same time on his journey. Bill Peet’s illustrations are detailed and beautiful especially when he makes the forest where Zildy lives extremely scary as there are dark shadows looming in the forest and many frightening trees surrounding Scamp.
“The Whingdingdilly” is a heartwarming story about the importance of being yourself and what true love is all about. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the book may be too long for many children and the words may be too advanced for them.
From my Epinions Review:
http://www99.epinions.com/review/The_...
Bill Peet has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this story with such creativity that will astound many children. This story is extremely heartwarming and exciting at the same time with Scamp trying to find his true self while trying to find his owner, Orvie at the same time on his journey. Bill Peet’s illustrations are detailed and beautiful especially when he makes the forest where Zildy lives extremely scary as there are dark shadows looming in the forest and many frightening trees surrounding Scamp.
“The Whingdingdilly” is a heartwarming story about the importance of being yourself and what true love is all about. I would recommend this book to children ages six and up since the book may be too long for many children and the words may be too advanced for them.
From my Epinions Review:
http://www99.epinions.com/review/The_...
January 19, 2019
This book really shows that no matter what you look like, or who you are, you are worth living for. Your original cannot be replaced- everyone has a place in this crazy world.
September 5, 2012
This is a great book for advanced pre-school readers and probably on up to the 2nd grade. It's a fairly long book for little ones, but it's a captivating story of a dog who wishes he were a famous horse and what happens to him when his wish comes true. The dog is brilliantly illustrated--you feel his every sigh of discontent!
July 5, 2021
Very close to a 5!
July 6, 2017
I came to love the works of Bill Peet when I read about him in elementary school. Like the Serendipity series, the characters are given their own life, a story that becomes a wonderful lesson and a chance to really see how life works. Unlike Serendipity, though, is the fact that the stories have less of a fantastical feel and the beautiful illustrations as these ones focus on daily life so instead are slightly blandish if compared to the other series.
In this particular book children are given a story as to what it is like to really want something bad that they will go to any means to get it, the good and the bad (mostly bad) effects and mostly coming to love what you have that makes you special. Although these type of stories are a dime a dozen the rustic background and the amazingly weird composition balance each other with the witch's beautiful flowers.
Although the story was decent and given in faith it can be seen as being a bit lengthy, more elaborated on when more simple writing would have done better. Very young readers will find their minds wandering more to the illustrations and less to the story so maybe an adult reader may want to change the story a bit as they read it if they would like to share.
The illustrations are brightly colored for the timeframe that the book came out and although it captures the character in detail there is enough of a cartoonish remnant that also dates the pictures. Otherwise Bill Peet does a wonderful job of capturing in essence of country living as he presents it to his reader.
In my opinion being a fan gives more life to the book as you can chalk it up basically as one of his not so best books. And if you are first reading Peet than I would suggest looking at reading one of his other titles before trying this one out or if you just read it while not liking it then try another Peet book before shelving him.
In this particular book children are given a story as to what it is like to really want something bad that they will go to any means to get it, the good and the bad (mostly bad) effects and mostly coming to love what you have that makes you special. Although these type of stories are a dime a dozen the rustic background and the amazingly weird composition balance each other with the witch's beautiful flowers.
Although the story was decent and given in faith it can be seen as being a bit lengthy, more elaborated on when more simple writing would have done better. Very young readers will find their minds wandering more to the illustrations and less to the story so maybe an adult reader may want to change the story a bit as they read it if they would like to share.
The illustrations are brightly colored for the timeframe that the book came out and although it captures the character in detail there is enough of a cartoonish remnant that also dates the pictures. Otherwise Bill Peet does a wonderful job of capturing in essence of country living as he presents it to his reader.
In my opinion being a fan gives more life to the book as you can chalk it up basically as one of his not so best books. And if you are first reading Peet than I would suggest looking at reading one of his other titles before trying this one out or if you just read it while not liking it then try another Peet book before shelving him.
December 11, 2014
Last year, I read every single Dr. Seuss book despite having read them as a child. My thinking was that maybe I might have missed one or two (and guess what?...I had! A few, in fact.) This year, I decided to read Bill Peet, whose literary output equals that of Dr. Seuss, yet somehow I'd overlooked Peet even though the two writers were cranking out books around the same time. I haven't finished Peet's bibliography but, so far, I'm impressed. His 'Wumpworld' is very similar to 'The Lorax'...but better, way much better. And just now, I've finished 'The Whingdingdilly' which easily rockets past its many competitors to become one of my all time favorites. If you haven't yet read Peet or it's simply been awhile...do not deny yourself!
April 3, 2012
This is an entertaining story that teaches a lesson that we should appreciate what we've got and not wish to be someone (or something else.) The illustrations are very comical, especially when the witch finishes changing Scamp into the Whingdingdilly. We loved the old fashioned feel of the rural farm and horse-drawn buggy. And the story has a lot of suspense, as the roustabouts chase and capture poor scamp. We enjoyed reading this story together.
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March 6, 2017It was good, makes me think twice about being an otter XD. It would be nice if he just stayed like that but had his owner it kinda relates to another book about a boy who wants to be something else but figure there will be a consequence. That poor poor dog, yes DOG! When I saw the cover, never in 1,000,000 years would I have guessed that was a dog on the cover. I highly recommend checking out Bill Peet's books, they remind of Stephen Cosgrove's book style.
May 20, 2018
I love Bill Peet's soothing colored pencil drawings, and there were sentences, such as the following, that were quite pleasurable to read out loud: "Within half an hour C. J. had rounded up his roughest toughest crew of roustabouts and they took off in their Hupperson autobus followed by a ten ton beast-moving van." In general the story seemed pretty conventional, however. I wouldn't say this is Peet's deepest work.
September 29, 2010
This book was my absolute favorite as a kid, and I still hold it close to my heart as an adult. Every time I went to the library, I would immediately dart to The Whingdingdilly and check it out every time. Today I had to go read it again and boy did it bring back memories. Bill Peet is an amazing author, and his books are definitely those that I will read to my kids in the future.
July 5, 2016
A very charming little dog story with very sweet and funny illustrations. The only things that could make this book better would be more illustrations! I don't know how the creator managed to let the dog's original appearance and darling character shine through all the transformations, but it is quite splendid.
November 30, 2013
Bill Peet is hands-down, our favorite children's author. His stories are fabulous and his illustrations are spot-on. We've read every single one and there is not a bad one in the bunch.
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July 21, 2017I cannot get over my mysterious childhood fear to understand what this book actually is. Why did it freak me out?
I have no idea, but because it did it still kinda does.
I have no idea, but because it did it still kinda does.
October 3, 2018
Loved it!
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December 16, 2019The Wingdingdilly is a wonderful book about a dog who wishes to be someone else and soon realizes that being yourself is good. In the book is so many pages, but they are all filled with excitement. I read this book myself and learned the lesson that you should always remember, just be yourself. I can prove this book is something everybody should read because it teaches a lesson that is very important. I can also add that it isn't just pages and pages, there is also some illustration in it so you can understand more about it. I recommend this book strongly because it really is, a wonderful and great book.
January 20, 2020
Well, this was great fun from start to finish (thanks for the recommendation, Julie). We had a hoot reading out all the incantations used by little Zilgy the witch when she was turning poor Scamp into the Whingdingdilly. "Diggety dawgety ziddle dee zump, we'll start right off with a camel hump!"
This is one we'll be returning to regularly, I think, not just for the story, which is lovely (my kid is big on pointing out when people are being unkind at the moment, and he had a real bee in his bonnet reading this), but for the wonderful illustrations too.
This is one we'll be returning to regularly, I think, not just for the story, which is lovely (my kid is big on pointing out when people are being unkind at the moment, and he had a real bee in his bonnet reading this), but for the wonderful illustrations too.
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March 25, 2020En af mine yndlingsbøger fra barndommen 😍
October 25, 2014
Bill Peet is the cream of the crop when it comes to writing children's books. I read them when I was a kid, I remembered them in the back of my mind for years, and I rediscovered them to my delight when I was searching for good books to read to my own children. His philosophies are often not compatible with mine, but they are not pernicious, and the delight of reading is all I remember from my childhood - I did not absorb any of his worldview.
June 1, 2010
This one is only good to look through on your own. She actually used to bring this to me to have me read it when she was first pulling books off the shelves on her own, but each page has multiple paragraphs of text on it and it's just too long to keep her attention. The pictures captivate her, but I'm not sure why.
October 18, 2014
I so remember this book from my childhood. I'm not sure why -- if I read it a bunch of times, or whether it just really stuck with me... It's a fantastical tale (and illustrations), with everyday-life subtexts. Funny how the truth endures because part of this story really applies to today's celebrity-obsessed culture, but it's a 1970 copyright.
February 12, 2017
One of my nephews loved the Bill Peet books when he was in elementary school, and now he's reading them to his own children. I'm slowly catching up on the kids' reading favorites. I can see the appeal of this one -- a lovable dog, a twist of magic and glory, and an old-fashioned farm setting. The moral of the tale is similar to that of 'The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings.'
November 11, 2017
A cute story about being happy with who you are and how difficult it is to be someone else. I love the illustrations and how the characters from other books show up. The more you read of Bill Peet, the more you love him.
April 20, 2019
genre: fantasy
grade: 2-3
feature: A dog named Scamp goes to a witch to change his appearance and it does not go as planned. Great book to use for a discussion about the importance of individuality!
grade: 2-3
feature: A dog named Scamp goes to a witch to change his appearance and it does not go as planned. Great book to use for a discussion about the importance of individuality!
May 1, 2019
2019: Good ole Scamp! He and Orvie were great.
I really like the expressions he gave to the hunters.
I really like the expressions he gave to the hunters.
October 22, 2017
An ordinary dog learns to be grateful who what he is.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews