Whistle for Willie

The book, copyright 1964, is about a boy trying to learn to whistle. It is a simple and quick read good for children. Probably very good way to introduce them to trying to whistle. In this book Peter -

'He saw a boy playing with his dog. Whenever the boy whistled, the dog ran straight to him.
Peter tried and tried to whistle, but he couldn't.'

It may not be a as much as a dog book, but Peter's dachshund Willie appears in several pages. The illustrations are not amazing but good, and the styles of clothes paint a picture from another time. All the people in the book have dark skin colors, which is probably more rare in books of the time, which is a nice difference.

You could probably have a lot of fun reading this book to your child, pairing show more it with whistling and your own dog. show less

Peter is determined to whistle throughout the story and finally at the end of the book he learns how, showing the reader we can reach our goals if we work hard. This story exposes a playful blur between the child's imagination and reality. This text has a childlike approach to the conflict in the story. The collage style of illustration brings a new (when first published) and fresh perspective to children's literature.

My daughter is an Ezra Jack Keats fan, especially his Peter books. One of her recommendations to me was Whistle for Willie, the sequel to Snowy Day.

It's spring time now and Peter and his dog, Willie, are out exploring the city block. Peter desperately wants to learn how to whistle so he can call Willie whenever he needs to. Whistling doesn't come easy, though.

As with Snowy Day, Peter isn't completely focused on learning how to whistle. Peter, like real children, gets distracted. He does other things when he can't whistle and is bored of practicing. Those asides give Peter a chance to grow as a character while showing children more of Peter's neighborhood.

My daughter learned in school that Keats used wallpaper as one of his materials in show more this book. So on our second read through the book we paid special attention to the illustrations. She pointed out all the wallpaper to me that she could find. show less

Peter is a young, African-American, dog owner who sees other dog owners being able to call their dogs in by whistling. This story will teach readers about perseverance and determination as Peter sets out to learn how to whistle. During his whole walk home, Peter tries and tries again to practice his whistle and it takes him until he goes back out to look for his dog, Willie, that he actually can do it. He goes home proud to share with his parents what he can do. The book is written very simply and the illustrations seem almost as if they were made with cut out pieces of paper.

I believe Whistle for Wiliie was an excellent book. Another entry in a series featuring Willie and Peter, the book was fun and sent a great message. The pictures were vibrant and gave insight along with the strong descriptions to build that feeling we've all had, wanting to be able to do something but just not quite being able to get it. Peter tried and tried and eventually he learned to whistle. This book sends a message to children to never give up, no matter how frustrated you get. Eventually you'll be able to do it.

Nice book about a little (black) boy who wants to learn to whistle, and, predictably, eventually does.

It's always nice to have picture books that feature black kids that take place in the US and that don't make "being black" the focus of the story, or else talk all about some "issue". The truth is that there aren't enough books that fit that criteria, and sometimes I think it's nice for my nieces to be able to see books about kids who act and look like them, y'know? So we've got a lot of books by Ezra Jack Keats.

It's also interesting to me to see how much freedom Willie has. Clearly, this book was written in a less paranoid (if not actually any safer) time.

A fun, quirky book about a young boy who wishes he could whistle for his dog, Willie. Peter takes us through his day of shenanigans that young children will relate to all the while trying to learn how to whistle. It's a fun story for young people about the power of perseverance. The illustrations are bold and beautiful.