Egan’s understated, hilarious travelogue continues as Dodsworth and his duck pal explore Rome, Italy. The duck—still wearing an acorn beret from Paris (Dodsworth in Paris, 2008)—is the motor for most of the laughs. Standing beside colossal columns in St. Peter’s Square, he comments dryly, “I feel smaller than usual.” Inside the Sistine Chapel, he notes placidly, “That’s weird…. There isn’t one duck in the entire painting.” Moments later, he’s on the ceiling with white paint, remedying that omission. Ink-and-watercolor illustrations employ tiny smiles and minimalist expressions to underscore the humor. In a pizza-throwing contest (“You’re good at throwing food,” comments Dodsworth, and indeed, the duck throws things in every city), the duck sneaks Dodsworth’s suitcase behind a table to stand on, never telling Dodsworth. A chaotic search for the suitcase yields nothing, and without the cash inside it, Dodsworth can’t afford a hotel. They doze overnight on the Spanish Steps. Next day, they dine heartily on found money—until honest Dodsworth discovers that the duck “found” the coins in the Trevi Fountain. Is the duck a descendent of Amelia Bedelia, innocently believing that a flea market contains fleas and that “Rome” means to roam around? Or is he slyly “mak[ing] the trip a little more exciting?” Deadpan delivery means there’s no way to tell, and that’s the brilliance of the duck. May the journey continue. (Early reader. 5-8)
Pub Date: April 18, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-39006-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader!
Fun with friends makes for a great day.
Norbit, a salmon-colored worm with a pink kerchief, joyfully greets the day and everyone he encounters. “Hello, friends! It’s time for fun with the sun! Let’s play!” He and his menagerie of forest pals—including the sun, who grows limbs and descends from the sky—exuberantly engage in various forms of physical activity such as jumping, going down a slide, spinning around, and watching the clouds go by. Young readers will readily relate, as these are games that most children are familiar with. As day turns to night, Norbit says farewell to Sun and welcomes Moon with an invitation to continue the fun. Watkins has created a vivid world of movement and merriment. Her illustrations feature bright bursts of color that match the energy of the text, with most sentences ending in an exclamation point. The author/illustrator incorporates many elements that make for an ideal early-reading experience (despite the use of a contraction or two): art free from clutter, text consisting of words with only one or two syllables, and repetition and recurring bits, such as a continued game of hide-and-seek with Sun. Inspired by never-before-seen sketches from the Dr. Seuss Collection archives at the University of California San Diego, this is the first title for Seuss Studios, a new imprint for original stories from “emerging authors and illustrators” who “honor Seuss’s hallmark spirit of creativity and imagination.”
Say hello to a relatable and rewarding early reader! (author's note) (Early reader. 5-8)Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780593646212
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Seuss Studios
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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