It's a Gift!

April 1, 2014
Anthropomorphic animals enact something of a frenzy of giving and receiving. Little Duck is having a fine time splashing in his pool, but his friend Beaver didn't bring her hat, and now the sun hurts her. Little Duck offers Beaver his nest as a hat. Squirrel is hungry--"I've lost my nuts!" she cries--so Little Duck gives her his bread sandwich. Bear, who laments his empty water jug, is comforted when Little Duck allows him to drink up the whole pool. Little Duck even pulls out a feather so Mouse can write down a poem he just thought of. Little Duck now realizes he doesn't have anything left at all and starts to cry. His friends rally round, praising his "big heart," and Otter brings a bathtub full of water while Rabbit scurries over with cookies. An awkwardly phrased blurb on the back cover does nothing to clarify this clunky parable. The pictures are bright, with watercolor effects and very childlike animals, but they are not appealing enough to counteract the opacity of the text. Very little fun and lots of preaching do not make a good story. If the lesson is to give away all your stuff until you have nothing left, what child wants to learn that? (Picture book. 4-7)

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July 1, 2014

PreS-While the illustrations here are fun, appealing, and complementary of the well-written text, translated from the original Spanish with fluidity and rich language, the story itself has weaknesses and logical inconsistencies. The plot centers on a young duck who gives up his nest, sandwich, swimming pool, and feather to fulfill the needs of four friends. Several logical questions may arise. Is Little Duck's water that Bear drinks a pond, a pool, or a river? It looks like a pond but is described as a pool, and elsewhere in the text, Little Duck looks to the "river bank" from the water where he is swimming. Would a bear really drink an entire pool (or pond or river) in one sitting? Is losing a single feather such a traumatic loss that it would cause Little Duck's to break down into tears? At first, Little Duck's gift-giving seems tender and sweet, but when his wailing, "I haven't got anything!" sends other friends to his rescue with a tub of water and food, it seems an odd message or lesson for young listeners. Would Little Duck's tale really encourage kids to share without expecting anything in return as suggested on the back cover? With the way the plot unfolds, it seems doubtful. Still, some might find the story endearing, and the illustrations have a definite charm.-Maralita L. Freeny, District of Columbia Public Library

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