The Water Horse

By: Dick King-Smith

Narrated by: Nathaniel Parker

When eight-year-old Kirstie brings home a strange egg from the Scottish shore, her family never expects it to hatch. But the next day, Kirstie discovers a baby sea monster swimming in her bathtub!

Part horse, part toad, part turtle, and part crocodile, he's the oddest-looking creature Kirstie's family has ever seen. Only Kirstie's grandfather knows what the beastie really is: a Water Horse!

This lovable creature is the perfect pet. The only trouble is, he can't stop growing. He gets bigger. And Bigger. And BIGGER. Before long, he's outgrown every loch in sight. Will they ever find a home that's large enough for their Water Horse?

©1990 Foxbusters Ltd (P)2014 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

'It's an ideal family read-aloud.' (The Horn Book Magazine)

'This well-written, fast-paced fantasy combines a popular subject with appealing, distinctive characters, humour, and drama. King-Smith's imaginative spin on an old myth makes the outrageous possible.' (Booklist)

'King-Smith's obvious belief in the power of care and compassion informs this genial tale told from both the human and sea monster's perspectives; it's not one of his strongest stories, but will capture the fancies of his many fans.' (Kirkus Reviews)

Wonderful short story

What a great story! Well written, touching, enchanting and it left me wanting to find out what happened next to Cruso.

This original book is best.

the movie version was quite different and stunk in comparison. very glad I read book first, movie was lousy and quite a bit altered.

My 5 year old daughter and I loved it

This book was excellent, we listened to 2-3 chapters a night at bed time.

We only wish it was longer!

The Scottish narration was an added treat.

Great story

Great story to listen to my 7 year old with. easy to fallow and fun listen.

Nessie!

I really enjoyed this story! It's lighthearted, the characters are real (and funny), and the water horse explains a lot about the monster of the loch. Very fun!

Charming Story. Great Narration

A delightful story for kids of all ages.
Great listen for a car trip with the kids.

100& counting

My son , who is 7 has listened to this book at bed time at close to 100 times and still loves it. Great story and wonderful performance.

Delightful!

I am an adult who loves children's books and stories, but I have not listened to many audio books, and have been sometimes disappointed in the way the ones I have heard were read. This narration of The Water Horse was completely engaging and absorbing as I listened, transporting me to faraway Scotland and into the trials and tribulations of the water horse and his human friends. My only regret is that the story did not last longer! Delightful.

A truly family friendly tale, charmingly told!

We love this audiobook! We've listened to it at least 3 times over the past year or so, usually between other longer audiobooks. It's an innocent, homey tale told with such an authentic accent and dialect that it really takes you there to experience the family's discovery and growing friendship with Crusoe, the Waterhorse. I love that we can listen to this as a family with NO worries about language or suggestive content. The kids laugh with Angus, the little boy who loves to eat, and like to hear how Grumble, the grumpy grandfather, lights up and finds joy again as they discover Crusoe and watch him grow. We listen in the car, and the kids look forward to their travel-story-time. This is one of our favorite shorter stories; Nathaniel Parker's narration is wonderful!

The After Horse

Loved this book!😘 Anyone with 9 or 10 year olds will enjoy listening to it with their kids! We followed it up with the movie...👍. Enjoyed both!