Franz-Ferdinand The Dancing Walrus

This is my new go-to book for graduates! In a humorous story, the author captures the essence of how life really works: how one might be lying around thinking one has reached a place of maximum capacity in life, and then something new and unimaginable comes along and makes one wonder what more is possible. Franz-Ferdinand and the Dancing Walrus is an adorable story with several great messages of encouragement. The concept of a dancing walrus is a fun place to start, and the author does a great job both of playing up this unlikely scenario and of showing how it’s worth it to go after your dreams. A fun read overall. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Franz-Ferdinand The Dancing Walrus by Marcus Pfister is a charming story about finding the courage to believe in our dreams enough to see them through. This is a beautifully illustrated picture book that will appeal to all ages, with quirky characters and a positive, uplifting message.

Franz-Ferdinand is a walrus who becomes captivated by the graceful ballet of a group of flamingos who, for whatever reason, have chosen to practice their routines upon the ice in Greenland. Understandably, the flamingos are dismissive of Franz-Ferdinand as a dancer, but it only takes one to believe in him, and the walrus bull is soon recruiting friends to share in the joy of the dance.

This is a joyful and inspiring story that I feel will have very widespread appeal. I also appreciated the call to action for eliminating ocean plastic that is included at the end of the book. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for an ARC.

This is an excellent book about how it's never too late to change and follow your dreams. Mixed in is a message about how we need to stop polluting the oceans. The illustrations are beautiful, funny, and add to the story. Highly recommended!

Each of us had a dream as a child. Bigger or smaller, outlined sooner or later, at some point, we all knew we wanted to do something, to get someone. This is what book does: it helps parents to help their kids to follow their dreams and in the same time to offer them a certain grasp of education for the ocean pollution. The walrus here proves that if he felt this was his way: dancing, the flamingo would always be by his side, to support him, to help him get up every time it was hard for him and he would want to give up. In the same time, they are there one for each other and support other walruses to accomplish their dream as well.
The message of the book can be summed up like this: follow your passion, go your own way and everything will come naturally. Listen to your heart, do what you love, let yourself be influenced only by those who can help you. Beyond all this advice, it is very important not to forget to encourage your children, to always treat them as winners, not to have expectations and not to put pressure. Let them dance with love and pleasure and do not condition their training or other "privileges" on the results obtained.

This is such a fun book from start to finish. Franz shows us you can do anything if you put your mind to it, even if others don’t believe in you! I think it is such an important lesson for kids and a must add to your bookshelf!!

THIS IS A MARVELOUS BOOK. Honestly, I would give more than 5 stars.

Franz-Ferdinand the walrus was enchanted of ballet by watching the flamingo ballet school he saw practices every day. But to join one, he has to cover himself a bit, somehow. So he has to find a tutu, somewhere in the Greenland. Sadly, all he can find is trashes thrown by humans.

A beautiful story of a walrus who wants to dance like those skinny flamingos, with a message on how dirty the oceans with our litters. How inappropriate to send our waste to those animals who do us no wrong.