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    Amos & Boris
    Amos & Boris
    Amos & Boris
    Ebook39 pages44 minutes

    Amos & Boris

    By William Steig

    4.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Amos the mouse and Boris the whale: a devoted pair of friends with nothing at all in common, except good hearts and a willingness to help their fellow mammal. They meet after Amos sets out to sea in his homemade boat, the Rodent, and soon finds himself in extreme need of rescue. Enter Boris. But there will come a day, long after Boris has gone back to a life of whaling about and Amos has gone back to his life of mousing around, when the tiny mouse must find a way to rescue the great whale.

    The tender yet comical story of this friendship is recorded in text and pictures that are a model of rich simplicity. Here, with apparent ease and concealed virtuosity, Caldecott medalist William Steig brings two winning heroes to life.

    Amos & Boris is a 1971 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year, Notable Children's Book of the Year, and Outstanding Book of the Year.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJul 30, 2013
    ISBN9781466808454
    Amos & Boris
    Author

    William Steig

    William Steig (1907-2003) was a cartoonist, illustrator and author of award-winning books for children, including Shrek!, on which the DreamWorks movies are based. Steig was born in New York City. Every member of his family was involved in the arts, and so it was no surprise when he decided to become an artist. He attended City College and the National Academy of Design. In 1930, Steig’s work began appearing in The New Yorker, where his drawings have been a popular fixture ever since. He published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968. In 1970, Steig received the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. His books for children also include Dominic; The Real Thief; The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book; Amos & Boris, a National Book Award finalist; and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. Steig's books have also received the Christopher Award, the Irma Simonton Black Award, the William Allen White Children's Book Award, and the American Book Award. His European awards include the Premio di Letteratura per l'infanzia (Italy), the Silver Pencil Award (the Netherlands), and the Prix de la Fondation de France. On the basis of his entire body of work, Steig was selected as the 1982 U.S. candidate for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for Illustration and subsequently as the 1988 U.S. candidate for Writing. Steig also published thirteen collections of drawings for adults, beginning with About People in 1939, and including The Lonely Ones, Male/Female, The Agony in the Kindergarten, and Our Miserable Life. He died in Boston at the age of 95.

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    Reviews for Amos & Boris

    4.5/5

    23 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Such a sad, adorable little book. Overall it is definitely a children's story, but the language, while whimsical and poetic, seems a bit advanced in places for the age level suggested by the illustrations and length—for one example, it doesn't care to explain certain jargon such as what "sounding" is in terms of whale behavior for children who haven't grown up in whaling towns and families. The ending was just convenient enough (no spoilers) and abrupt enough that it just hurts. Beautiful little folksy tale with a straightforward moral.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the sweetest childen's stories ever! Two unlikely friends in Amos and Boris end up helping each other out, one in the ocean and the other on land. The story is really charming, and the illustrations are very cute. There's a nice lesson in this book for children, but it'll make adults smile too!
    • 5/5
      Originally published in 1971, William Steig's Amos & Boris, which offers a delightful oceanic remake of the classic Aesopic fable of The Lion and the Mouse, is as close to perfect as a picture-book can be, pairing an engaging story about an unlikely friendship between a mouse and a whale, with charming illustrations that are all the more evocative for their simplicity. The text is intelligent, and its author assumes that his readers, young though they may be, are likewise intelligent. Describing his murine hero's voyage of discovery on the wide ocean, Steig writes: "One night, in a phosphorescent sea, he marveled at the sight of some whales spouting luminous water; and later, lying on the deck of his boat gazing at the immense, starry sky, the tiny mouse Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all."That thrilling sense of connection, to the world around, and to the very cosmos; that feeling of being akin to all life; is one that comes to us all, from time to time (or so I have always imagined), an epiphanic experience made more powerful by the fact that it often remains inchoate - sensed, felt, but not fully conceptualized or expressed. That Steig so effortlessly evokes that kind of experience, using a sophisticated vocabulary that some might deem too advanced for picture-book fare, before blithely moving on with his narrative, makes for a brilliant storytelling episode - one of many in this little masterpiece of the genre! Poignant, without ever descending into any kind of overt emotional manipulation or tricksiness; heart-warming, though utterly lacking in sentimentality; and deeply satisfying, though the conclusion of the story is left somewhat open-ended, Amos & Boris is a superb picture-book, one I am very sorry not to have discovered earlier in life. I suspect I would have read it again and again, as a girl...
    • 4/5
      Amos and Boris is a story about everlasting friendship and helping others in times of trouble. Amos is a mouse that falls off of a boat and is saved by a whale named Boris. The two become lifelong friends despite their drastic differences. Later, Amos returns the favor by saving Boris with the help of two elephants after he has become stranded on land. Themes of diversity and friendship surround the story when the reader discovers that two animals with practically nothing in common can become devoted friends. I enjoyed this book for its overall themes, beautiful illustrations, and embedded humor – “Are you sure you’re a mammal,’ Amos asked. ‘You smell more like a fish to me.”
    • 5/5
      The main characters are a mouse and a whale who forge a friendship after Amos's (the mouse) boat crashes and Boris (the whale) saves him. Amos later repays Boris's kindness when Boris is beached by a hurricane many years later. Amos gets two elephants that push Boris back into the water, therefore saving Boris. I love the descriptive language used in the book, "whales spouting luminous water.." and "a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe" I really felt like I was there. The illustrations are very simple but also adorable.This is an adorable story about friendship among two unlikely creatures, and the main theme of the book is friendship and what it means to be a friend. It teaches the lesson that looking different doesn't mean friendship can't form. This book can start a conversation in the classroom about what characteristics a good friend has and what it takes to have a true and lasting friendship.
    • 5/5
      The main focus of this story was on the theme of friendship and how even though friends can't always be close in proximity to one another, they are always close to one another when it counts. I love the story of this book and how each character's struggle ended up paralleling the other's. Both Amos and Boris were faced with the possibility of dying a lonely death in an environment they were not suited for and because of their kindness and generosity towards one another they were able to escape a terrible fate. Albeit this story can be a little verbose on some pages I think it is a great story with a very palpable messge that young children can understand.
    • 5/5
      This a touching, at times humorous tale about the unlikely friendship of a mouse and a whale. Amos and Boris find that they are both able to help the other in unexpected ways. Steig's language is sophisticated, yet child friendly.
    • 5/5
      I love William Steig, but the illustrations are just too small for a good read aloud.
    • 4/5
      A friendship between a mouse and a whale is eloquently described in this story. Though the two have obvious differences, they are both loyal characters and both value the friendship they have with each other. The two characters meet when Boris the whale saves Amos the mouse who is lost at sea. Amos later returns the favor. The author does a nice job of highlighting the two very different animals' meaningful relationship.
    • 4/5
      This book is a story that touches on friendship as well as not judging a book by it's cover. It's about a mouse who sets sail on the open sea and while he is sleeping he falls into the water. As he is trying to stay alive a whale comes and saves him. The two become friends on the travel back to land and the mouse says he will never forget his friend and find a way to help him one day. The whale cannot believe that a small little mouse could ever help him but he stumbles upon some trouble himself and his mouse friend comes to the rescue! Very cute book for children when talking about friendship.
    • 4/5
      This is a touching book about an unexpected friendship between a mouse and a whale. While the pair have many physical differences, they share a common value of friendship and loyalty. They overcome some huge obstacles in their journey and even though they leave one another eventually, they will always remain close in a way.
    • 5/5
      Another great tale from Steig. The author uses delightful phrases and illustrations in the telling of this tale which is one of the reasons why I love it. It is a tender story as well about dreams and a special friendship. (A bit long for younger children.)
    • 5/5
      It's a very rare thing to see such a striking friendship between a mountain-of-a-mammal whale and a mote-of-a-mammal mouse. But for Amos and Boris, it's perhaps the most natural thing ever. In a book about dreams and aspirations, life and the bonds of everlasting friendships, Amos the mouse finds himself lost at sea - only to be rescued by Boris the whale, a serene, friendly creature on his way to a conference of whales off the Ivory Coast of Africa. What follows is something many authors strive for but few perhaps achieve: a perfect, endearing portrait of a friendship that knows no bounds. Steig envelopes us into the story with his striking, signature sketched illustrations - this time, often filling up whole pages - and the experience is almost pitch-perfect. We feel the emotional echoes of a friendship shared, from the quiet exchanges and the familiarity that grows with one another's cues, to the bigger, nobler displays of sacrifice for friends. We sense that a small mouse like Amos would never be able to help his whale friend out in any big way, but we're delighted and surprised and feel it's perfectly natural when he does - and with that noble act done, we watch with great joy as they part again, forever to be great friends. Ah, if only every mouse like Amos, we feel, could have as great a whale friend as Boris, and vice-versa. It's the way it should be.
    • 4/5
      Funny, touching story about the friendship between a mouse and a whale. Steig's illustrations never disappoint.

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    Amos & Boris - William Steig

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