The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles

The final book we chose to read this year was “The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles” by Julie Andrews Edwards.  Absolutely none of us had heard of the story, and were surprised to find out that it was written by the star of “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music.”  The story came highly recommended from an online source with many people praising its creativity and ability to engage young readers.  Our experience proved to be much different.  

The story itself was broken into three distinct sections, and so we read it over the course of three weeks.  The first two sections were extremely lackluster and made it difficult to continue reading the story.  Admittedly, one of the founders of the book club could not even finish the story.  We call this “The Great Debacle.” The third and final section finally gave the readers a glimpse into the explosion of creativity that had been promised from the very beginning.  For those of us who had finished the story, our minds were changed and we began to embrace the story.  We decided that it would be a good book to read to our students, though not everyone in the group was convinced.  

These are the discussion questions that were generated for this story:

Part 1

• What do you think about the Professor Savant's advice about relearning how to view the world we live in?
• This story was written in 1974. Do you think this story would be the same if it were written today?
• Who do you think The Prock is? What do you think his purpose is in the story?
• This story seems to be a commentary on the loss of innocence and imagination that affects children as they age. What are you thoughts?
• Do you think there might be a an ulterior motive for the Professor to meet the King of the Whangdoodles?
• Why do you think about the names of the sections? (Challenge, Capture, Conquest)
• Do you have any predictions for the next section of the story?

Part 2

• Where do you think Whangdoodleland is?
• What does the hat remind you of?
• How do you think Prock travels to the real world?
• What other books does this remind you of?
• Can you get hurt or die in Whangdoodleland?
• Is there only one way of getting into the land?

Part 3

• Do you think that all of the problems that the children seem to have are too easily remedied? (i.e. the children are very hungry, they come across the fruit of the month tree) Is this because it’s a children’s book?
• If you had to choose, what would your favourite creature be from the story? (Whiffle bird, Splintercat, Oinck, Gazook, Swamp Gaboons, etc.)
• What do you think of the female Whangdoodle? Do you think it was right for them to create her for the sole purpose of being the King's wife?
• Were you satisfied with the ending?
• What lessons do you think this book teaches its readers?