Duck - Hardcover

Rezensionen

PreS The narrator recalls a time ``long ago'' when a toddler named Tim called all animals ``duck'' and all vehicles ``truck.'' His Granny graciously corrected him with the appropriate nomenclature as she showed him the real things and rewarded him with a kiss after he correctly said ``duck'' or ``truck.'' Then, in an awkward part of the book, Tim doesn't say a word as he examines his toy train and truck. And to prove he has assimilated this naming process, he calls out ``duck'' when he sees a real one at the pond, and he kisses Granny back after she kisses him. The book looks inviting, but the text is repetitive and tedious. The simple, delicate muted drawings of popular objects (dogs, cats, toys) will invite younger children to explore the pages. They bear that light, familiar, Burningham/Oxenbury watercolor look. The large typeface reinforces an unadorned appearance. Unfortunately, the children for whom this book is intended may not recognize themselves in their own struggle to associate the abstract with the concrete. Marianne Pilla, formerly at Allard K. Lowenstein Library of Long Beach, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A child, Tim, learns to name his surroundings in this collaboration. At first, he calls all animals "duck," and Granny corrects him in vain. Finally she shows him a duck, and Tim echoes her words. Next, having heard Tim refer to a tractor, a bus and a car as "trucks," Granny points out an actual truck. Tim obediently repeats that name, too. For some time after this, Tim is silent: he looks at his playthings but does not attempt to name them. By the time Granny takes him back to the pond he is able to name the duck with no prompting. Voake's soft pastel illustrations fit Lloyd's story in tone and approach: both are friendly and immediately engaging. Most readers will relish the chance to correct Tim's misnomers and display their own knowledge. But the book's subtle denouementTim's period of silence and his subsequent, correct identification of a duckis perhaps overly abstract. The implication that Tim has gained understanding through silent contemplation may be beyond the grasp of many of those who have only just begun to identify objects in the world around them. Ages 1-5.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.