We bought this for my in-laws to share with my niece and nephew. Of course I had to read it first!

This was a fun enough little story, with a vocabulary that will be beyond most kids' actual understanding, but it just sounds fun as a rhyme with manatee. Think inanity and urbanity. The real charm of the book is in the illustrations and the accompanying CD with the words of the book being sung by John Lithgow. Huge fun! There's even a track with just the music on the CD. I see kiddie karaoke in my in-laws' future! ( )

I was introduced to this book this year in a children's music class for teachers. As an assignment, one of my friends brought in this book and sang along with the CD as she showed us the pictures. Many of us tried to sing along with her, but it was hard because we didn't know the lyrics. My main weakness was getting distracted by the pictures. The manatees are painted beautifully, and you can feel the love and joy radiating off of the pages. This book can be read with or without the accompanying music. It would be perfect to use in a preschool/kindergarten classroom, or at home as a delightful bedtime story. The music could even be played during bath time!

I listened to "I'm a Manatee" read by John Lithgow through TumbleBooks. The story is about a little boy who imagines that he is a manatee, because that's what he really wants to be. The illustrations are very detailed and done in faint colors that fit well because of the setting and story. Since most of the illustrations show underwater scenes the light colors fit well and the light lines suit the story because it is all imagined by the little boy. John Lithgow's reading was fun to listen to because the he used different tones. ( )

My kids love this book, and we have so much fun reading it to them. Our first copy came from a cereal box, and was literally loved to pieces, so we've just replaced it with the hardcover (which comes with a CD of the author singing the words - it's a song). A great addition to any children's library, and a must for manatee lovers. ( )