Rating: 
Summary: Love this Book!
Review: My mother-in-law gave me her copy of this book (printed in 1938) when my oldest child was 4 or 5 years old and we just adored this story! In fact, she (my daughter) loved it so much she memorized it within months. I chose this book to read to her 2nd grade class and they, too, felt the magic of how the fierce bull loved to just sit and "smell the flowers"! I just sat down tonight to read it for the first time to my youngest child (5 years old) and he already knew how the story went. I asked him how he knew it and if his sister already read it to him, because I had not yet done so. He told me that nobody read it to him, that his sister (now 11 years old) already told him about it. He went on to explain every page to me before I even read it! Maybe it's because it's such a different subject for a children's book ( a bull, a tree, a bee and oh, those flowers!) or it could be because we don't have a great deal of access to bull fighting here in America...none the less, it's a story that stays with you, if only because of it's simplicity. Kind of refreshing.
Rating: 
Summary: Shocking and inappropriate for young children
Review: Originally published in 1936, this simple story of the pacifist bull still rings true for children and adults, as ferdinand refuses to fight even when he is chosen to face the matador in Madrid. Ferdinand would rather sit under a tree and smell the flowers, and his mom thinks that's just fine. this is a comforting story for kids who feel they don't fit in. the message is simple and direct, and makes for great discussions after reading. The original illustrations are quite charming as well.
Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST EVER
Review: So, I had this and read it to my children a thousand times. Then I spent six months in Andalucia, Spain and discovered this book is an accurate represenation of it. The illustrations actually appear to be Spain from Madrid to Andalucia, especially the Frontera, including Ronda and Vejer de la Frontera or Arcos de la Frontera. On top of that, the story of Ferdinand is about being who you are, and being at peace with yourself - whether it conforms to society's expectations or not. Subtly, and well, done. Beautiful pictures, beautiful story, peaceful theme. What more can you ask whether you are an innocent child or a world-weary adult? Worth buying and sharing with someone you love.
Rating:
Summary: Blessed are the peacemakers.
Review: This book is more than sixty years old. I remember hearing it as a small child in the early sixties, and even then it sounded strangely old-fashioned to me, as if it came from some sweet, gentle world that had not existed for a long time. But as a child I passionately loved that world, and this book that evoked its gentleness, and years later, when I found out I was pregnant, the first thing I bought for my son was not a blanket or a crib or a stuffed animal, but a copy of Ferdinand. It was the thing I loved most from my own childhood. Seventeen years later, I still think my priorities were right. And that seventeen year old has a six year old sister, so the book is still in use. Ferdinand has been around so long, I assume everybody knows the story, but in case you don't, here goes: Ferdinand is a gentle little bull in Spain. The other little bulls love to fight and dream of being chosen for the bullfights in Madrid. But by mistake, Ferdinand is sent to fight. The only problem is, he will not fight.. They lead him into the bullring, but he just sits there, smelling the flowers in the women's hair, and in the end there is nothing the matadors can do but take him home. I suppose people have been reading this book to children for more than sixty years in part because of its pacifist message. In essence, Ferdinand is the one who would not come when they gave a war. But for me that is just a small part of its appeal. Robert Lawson's absolutely perfect illustrations show a world that is often mean and ugly (the stupid expressions on the faces of the men who come to choose the bulls are classics), or else petty and foolish (check out the fussy clothes and snooty expressions of the matadors), but Ferdinand, always true to himself, is oblivious to this world, and just goes on living his own life in his own way. In the end that quality is a force that nothing can alter. Reading Ferdinand always leaves me believing that goodness is a powerful, unshakeable force. That is a message I find very comforting lately.
Rating:
Summary: Happily ever after
Review: This is a classic children's story, beautifully illustrated, simple and unpretentious. Both children and adults will love the story of the unmotivated bull with the pollen habit.
Reading this aloud to your kids with the correct intonation is sure to raise giggles, one of the reasons it has been a favorite for so many generations.
What you DON'T know is what happened next......
1. The bumble bee died after taking on too much bull.
2. Ferdinand's mother named her next son "Killer" and encouraged him to hit his head as much as he liked.
3. Killer performed spectacularly at the bullfights, but was put out to pasture after he bit off the matador's ear.
4. The cork tree flourished, largely due to the daily fertilizer treatments.
5. Always a loner, Ferdinand never married, but got a job at the Spanish Botanical Gardens, in the cross pollination nursery.
Sadly, the sequel was never published due to lack of a publisher.
Enjoy book one as often as possible, because that's all you need, and that's all you're going to get.
Amanda Richards, December 4, 2004
Rating:
Summary: Shocking and inappropriate for young children
Review: Upon reading this book, I found it to be very shocking and inappropriate for young children. My students thought it to be a "bad story." They "did not like it because the men wanted to hurt Ferdinand. They wanted to keep sticking him with spears and a sword." My students asked me to stop reading the story because they felt very sad.
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