Name: The Water Horse
ISBN: 9780375842313

Dick King-Smith

Now in paperback! From the award-winning author of Babe: The Gallant Pig comes the story of how the Loch Ness monster finds his home, thanks to the human family that raises him.

The Water Horse

Katie Day

Set in the 1930s, the story of a brother and sister who live by the sea in Scotland with their mother, her father whom they call Grumble, and their sailor father, who is often away for long periods. After a storm they find an object which turns out to be a kelpie or water-horse egg, and out of it hatches what is obviously meant to be the Loch Ness Monster as a baby. They secretly raise Crusoe (as they name it) -- which involves all kinds of problems as it gets bigger and bigger -- and they have to train him to stay hidden from other people. The book ends with a newspaper clipping dated 1933 referring to the sighting of a great monster in Loch Ness.

Fairly short -- with b&w illustrations.