Rating: 
Summary: Stop and smell the flowers...
Review: I like this book a lot. It's the story of a bull who would rather stop and smell the flowers than do anything else, unlike the other bulls who spend their time snorting and jumping around. When he accidentally sits on a bumblebee he jumps around like crazy and is taken away to a bullfight where instead of fighting he sits down and admires the flowers worn in the hair of the pretty ladies in the crowd. This book does mention sticking swords into the bulls, so that may be a little disturbing for younger kids. I think that slightly older kids who are like Ferdinand will enjoy this classic story and will be able to relate to his laid back personality.
Rating:
Summary: Stop and smell the flowers...
Review: I like this book, because it reminds me of myself. Just like Ferdinand, I'm more content to just stop and smell the flowers. A lot of kids are like Ferdinand too, and this is a good book for them to relate to.
Rating:
Summary: Bully for you, Ferdinand!
Review: I love Robert Lawson and I love Munroe Leaf, but ladies and gentlemen these two men are definitely less great unless paired together. In undoubtedly my favorite children's book from the 1930s (so sorry, "They Were Strong and Brave"), these two titans of the picture book world created the most adorable story to have ever involved cork trees, bulls, and sweet smelling flowers.Ferdinand is none too different from "The Reluctant Dragon". He may look fierce and strong, but underneath that hard exterior lies a bull that is perfectly content to just sit beneath his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers all day. Ferdinand was gentle even when young, and he has no desire to go needlessly ramming his head with the other bulls in the field. When some wonderfully illustrated men arrive to find a bull worthy of their bull-fighting arena, Ferdinand is accidentally selected as their choice. Once in the arena, however, Ferdinand proceeds to humiliate the matador and his cronies through simple peace-loving flower-smelling. In the end, Ferdinand is returned to his cork tree and the world is as it was. There's a definite pacifist feel behind the old Ferdinand tale. In what other story will you have a creature not fight back despite all provocations, only to win in the end? Moreover, a male character that prefers pretty sights and smells to violence and uber-masculinity. Lawson's pen and ink drawings expertly compliment Leaf's tale. Through them we see the high balconies of Spanish towns, and the serene fields where little bulls may play. I was especially amused by the cork tree, from which actual wine corks hang. I suspect many a child has subsequently believed for years that corks really do grow on the vine as Lawson displayed them. Lawson isn't above other humorous tweaking beyond that. On the front and end papers of the book is an image of children gawking at a ferocious picture of "angry" Ferdinand. The poster goes on to advertise treats at the bull fight including "hot dogos" and "chocolato". Apparently any word with an appropriate "o" tacked on the end is instantly Spanish. "Ferdinand" is the sweetest of the Leaf/Lawson tales. However you feel about the nature of violence (and about how it is almost required of the males of society) this is the quintessential story about being yourself. The angry over-masculine bulls may fight and brawl but peaceful Ferdinand is the one to outwit the men in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Bully for you, Ferdinand!
Review: I love Robert Lawson and I love Munroe Leaf, but ladies and gentlemen these two men are definitely less great unless paired together. In undoubtedly my favorite children's book from the 1930s (so sorry, "They Were Strong and Brave"), these two titans of the picture book world created the most adorable story to have ever involved cork trees, bulls, and sweet smelling flowers. Ferdinand is none too different from "The Reluctant Dragon". He may look fierce and strong, but underneath that hard exterior lies a bull that is perfectly content to just sit beneath his favorite cork tree and smell the flowers all day. Ferdinand was gentle even when young, and he has no desire to go needlessly ramming his head with the other bulls in the field. When some wonderfully illustrated men arrive to find a bull worthy of their bull-fighting arena, Ferdinand is accidentally selected as their choice. Once in the arena, however, Ferdinand proceeds to humiliate the matador and his cronies through simple peace-loving flower-smelling. In the end, Ferdinand is returned to his cork tree and the world is as it was. There's a definite pacifist feel behind the old Ferdinand tale. In what other story will you have a creature not fight back despite all provocations, only to win in the end? Moreover, a male character that prefers pretty sights and smells to violence and uber-masculinity. Lawson's pen and ink drawings expertly compliment Leaf's tale. Through them we see the high balconies of Spanish towns, and the serene fields where little bulls may play. I was especially amused by the cork tree, from which actual wine corks hang. I suspect many a child has subsequently believed for years that corks really do grow on the vine as Lawson displayed them. Lawson isn't above other humorous tweaking beyond that. On the front and end papers of the book is an image of children gawking at a ferocious picture of "angry" Ferdinand. The poster goes on to advertise treats at the bull fight including "hot dogos" and "chocolato". Apparently any word with an appropriate "o" tacked on the end is instantly Spanish. "Ferdinand" is the sweetest of the Leaf/Lawson tales. However you feel about the nature of violence (and about how it is almost required of the males of society) this is the quintessential story about being yourself. The angry over-masculine bulls may fight and brawl but peaceful Ferdinand is the one to outwit the men in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Bull Fighting?
Review: I ordered this book when I purchased "Ping" because it was rated 0 to 4 year olds. Stupid of me but I just read it to my two year old without first reviewing it. The description of bull fighting shocked me. I questions whether this book should be rated for 2 year olds. My child liked that Ferdinand smelled flowers but he was confused about sticking sharp objects in the bulls.
Rating:
Summary: I prefer the Disney book
Review: I ordered this for my kids some years ago. I was disappointed because I thought it would be a book version of Disney's Ferdinand the Bull in full color. I had such a book as a kid, and never forgot the pictures. I have since been able to resurrect the original cartoon on tape.
Rating:
Summary: A classic story!
Review: I read all of the great reviews here at Amazon.com and decided to check Ferdinand out at the library. My three year old loves it! He has it memorized and asks to check it out every time we go to the library. We're going to have to get our own copy because we have the librarys all of the time. It has nice black and white pictures that remind me of the books I read as a child. This is a classic story that every child should be introduced to!
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful book
Review: I received this book 25 years ago from my grandmother who was a elementary school teacher. This is one of those books that even as a child stuck in my mind.It is one of the sweetest stories that I have ever had the pleasure to read.I am ordering it for my daughter and will put it away until she is a little older.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful children's book which has held up over time.
Review: I recently became an elementary school teacher. I am often amazed that The Story of Ferdinand still delights and engages children's imaginations. Many of the children I have read this to were hearing the story for the first time and they seemed to love this book as much as I did when I was a youngster. Wish there were more very memorable books around. I would rate this book one of the very best children's books of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly Charming Tale of Being Yourself
Review: I recently rediscovered this favorite book from my childhood (which was 40+ years ago now), and fell in love all over again. Now my 4 year old daughter and I both get to experience the exquisite pleasure of Ferdinand on a regular (i.e. nightly) basis. The gorgeous illustrations and simple, powerful story of the biggest bull on the farm who would rather "sit just quietly and smell the flowers", is as moving today as it was when it was written more than 50 years ago. And I cannot think of a more important lesson to teach our children today: that it is o.k. to be yourself, even when everyone else thinks you should be something else. This is a sweet, lovely story for children and adults alike, and is one of the few books I look forward to reading over and over again. Luckily, my daughter agrees.
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