This easy-to-follow-along tale with its happy-family ending will make for a great bedtime story.
When Brother Duck and Sister Duck receive a gift of butterfly nets, the siblings go against Mama and Papa Duck’s wishes and wander off into the woods, lost in the chase to catch any small critter that crosses their path.
When nightfall suddenly catches the ducklings in the middle of the forest and the reality of being lost hits the ducklings, their cries are heard by Ms. Owl, who gathers the forest animals to call out for Mama and Papa Duck. The illustrations depict a comical, lively character ensemble of distinct personalities. One after another, each animal howls out their unique distress call: Ms. Wolf’s “piercing howl,” Mr. Moose’s “earthshaking bellow,” Ms. Fox’s “shrill scream,” and Mr. Bear’s “fierce growl.” Eventually, it is the combination of simultaneous animal screeching that leads the Duck parents to their lost ducklings, who send up their own peeps into the night. At the end, the Duck parents deny hearing all of the other animals that helped the ducklings, confessing to only hearing their ducklings’ “sweet peep-peep-peep” amid the noise. Gorbachev’s friendly cartoons depict clothed, anthropomorphic forest animals, the ducklings’ urgent body language instantly recognizable. The animals’ vocalizations will make for rousing read-alouds.
This easy-to-follow-along tale with its happy-family ending will make for a great bedtime story. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-8234-4107-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it.
A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon.
A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread. A final two-spread sequence finds all of the animals arrayed across the pages, dads on the verso and children on the recto. All the text prior to this point has been either iterations of “Dada” or animal sounds in dialogue bubbles; here, narrative text states, “Now everybody get in line, let’s say it together one more time….” Upon the turn of the page, the animal dads gaze round-eyed as their young across the gutter all cry, “DADA!” (except the duckling, who says, “quack”). Ordóñez's illustrations have a bland, digital look, compositions hardly varying with the characters, although the pastel-colored backgrounds change. The punch line fails from a design standpoint, as the sudden, single-bubble chorus of “DADA” appears to be emanating from background features rather than the baby animals’ mouths (only some of which, on close inspection, appear to be open). It also fails to be funny.
Plotless and pointless, the book clearly exists only because its celebrity author wrote it. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-250-00934-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together.
A clueless duckling tries to make a new friend.
He is confused by this peculiar-looking duck, who has a long tail, doesn’t waddle and likes to be alone. No matter how explicitly the creature denies he is a duck and announces that he is a cat, the duckling refuses to acknowledge the facts. When this creature expresses complete lack of interest in playing puddle stomp, the little ducking goes off and plays on his own. But the cat is not without remorse for rejecting an offered friendship. Of course it all ends happily, with the two new friends enjoying each other’s company. Bramsen employs brief sentences and the simplest of rhymes to tell this slight tale. The two heroes are meticulously drawn with endearing, expressive faces and body language, and their feathers and fur appear textured and touchable. Even the detailed tree bark and grass seem three-dimensional. There are single- and double-page spreads, panels surrounded by white space and circular and oval frames, all in a variety of eye-pleasing juxtapositions. While the initial appeal is solidly visual, young readers will get the gentle message that friendship is not something to take for granted but is to be embraced with open arms—or paws and webbed feet.
A sweet, tender and charming experience to read aloud or together. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-375-86990-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
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