April 1, 2020
PreS-K-Following up on How Rude, this author-illustrator duo present the story of Duck and Dot, an avian and human pair of friends who sometimes experience conflict in their relationship. Duck is a bright yellow bird with a big beak, and Dot, a child of indeterminate gender, is clad in a red spotted and hooded shirt. In this episode, it is Dot whose behavior is unseemly. The child will not share with Duck. At each greedy act, Duck thinks "How selfish!" Though Duck attempts to negotiate, the two finally reach an impasse and find themselves bored and lonely. In the end, they learn to share. The story is told entirely in short dialogue, at times seeming like a panel-less comic book with multiple actions on each page. Tallec's drawings are simple but expressive, done in his signature childlike style. His focus is on the characters, with few background images in the white space. VERDICT A straightforward offering about sharing.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA
Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 15, 2020
Fowl and friend fight over toys. Duo Dot and Duck explored manners in How Rude! (2018). Now they are back, learning another tough childhood lesson. Duck finds a stick, but Dot greedily snatches it away. Duck thinks it should be a flag. Dot thinks it is a sword. The two squabble back and forth, grabbing and yelling. "Flag!" "Sword!" Duck tries to negotiate: "Swap the flag for a rabbit?" But Dot is having none of it: "That's MY toy!" When Duck suggests sharing, Dot ceremoniously offers a tiny leaf while keeping everything else (including the stick). The pair can't figure out how to agree until Duck utters the most powerful phrase in all of childhood: "I'm telling on you...." Dot quickly acquiesces, and suddenly Duck is the one with all of the toys. Dot is fuming. How selfish! The staccato shouts that dominate the dialogue-only text and the uncluttered, white backdrop emphasize this grumpy feud. Each page turn shows how quickly an argument can escalate. Luckily, the duo realize they miss each other's company and are able to find a compromise. The argument itself offers hints as a model for social-emotional conflict resolution, but this book is more likely to be used to spark a deeper discussion rather than to provide solo guidance. Duck is a yellow-feathered duck; Dot is a pink-skinned human. Exploring selfish behavior makes understanding the "why" of sharing easier. (Picture book. 3-6)
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March 1, 2020
Preschool-K In this follow-up to Welsh and Tallec's How Rude! (2018), Dot (a little girl) and Duck (yes, a duck) bicker over possession of a stick. Duck finds it and suggests that they make a flag. No, that's my sword, says Dot, snatching it. She wins initially, but a battle of wits begins, with each trying to outmaneuver the other through bartering, snatching toys, and making threats ( I'm telling on you ). After each realizes that when either one has everything, both are unhappy, Duck suggests breaking the stick in two to make a flag and a sword. Meanwhile, in the brief text, which consists mainly of their conversations, the comment How selfish, which appeared repeatedly during their arguments, is amended to How boring, How lonely, How exciting, How thoughtful, and finally, How fun! While the text sets up the action, the emotional content and humor emerge mainly in the expressive, often amusing pencil drawings, brightened with color washes and vivid against the large white pages. A light-handed moral tale from the Dot and Duck series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)