Sunday, February 21, 2010

Duck! Rabbit!


Booklist starred (April 1, 2009 (Vol. 105, No. 15))
Preschool-Grade 1. How cute is this? Really, really cute. Some readers may know the visual puzzle that makes the same line drawing look like a rabbit or a duck, depending on how you squint; this book is even funnier (and a little disorienting) if you’re meeting Duck/Rabbit for the first time. But even those familiar with how ears can turn into a beak will get a kick out of the way Rosenthal and Lichtenheld move the concept forward. The offstage narrators see something interesting: “Hey, look! A duck!” “That’s not a duck. That’s a rabbit!” Then the back and forth begins, with the duck quacking while the rabbit is sniffing, the duck eating bread, the rabbit munching a carrot. In the most clever spread, readers turn the book vertically to see the duck getting a drink of water, while the rabbit cools its ears. The simple art is reminiscent of Eric Rohmann’s work and will appeal to the same audience. Despite the story basically being one joke, the clever tone and the amusing pictures (rendered in ink, watercolor, “and a wee bit of colored pencil”) never let it feel that way. The clever ending might inspire kids (and parents) to create their own artistic twofers.

No comments: