#365PictureBooks 43. Odd Duck by Cecil Castellucci, illustrated by Sara Varon

Castellucci, C., & Varon, S. (2013). Odd Duck. New York, NY: First Second.

ISBN: 9781596435575
Pages: 96
Age Level: Middle Childhood 7-12
Genre: Picture Storybook / Graphic Novel
Rating: 4 stars

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Theodora is a perfectly normal duck.  She may swim with a teacup balanced on her head and stay north when the rest of the ducks fly south for the winter, but there's nothing so odd about that.

Chad, on the other hand, is one strange bird.  He looks at the stars at night.  He swims in crazy circles instead of straight lines.  His house is a mess.  It's a good thing Chad has a normal friend like 

Theodora to set a good example for him.

With only 6 chapters this is a great graphic novel for younger readers to get into.  It is sized slightly larger than a chapter book, and smaller than a picture book, making it easy to handle.

We follow Theodora as she goes about her day, starting with a healthy exercise routine before she heads off shopping and to the library.  She always gets the same things as all the other ducks, but we can see her individuality showing through as well as the fact that she likes to be alone.  She is happy with who she is and doesn't want anything to change. 

But then one day Chad moves into the empty house next door.  He's a bit of a messy duck, and boy, can he talk ... and talk ... and talk ... and talk.  There is no way they could be friends.  They were just too different, and Chad was just plain Odd!  Theodora was just going to ignore Chad and keep to herself ... just as she preferred!  But slowly Chad begins to grow on Theodora, and before she can help herself they are friends.

Varon's illustrations are gorgeous.  They show Theodora and Chad in all their individual uniqueness.  They are done in muted and paste tones, and although the ducks are pale yellow they stand out from the background images.  The graphic novel scenes are simply done, and the speech bubbles positioned in a way that those new to Graphics can follow along and learn the layout style.  I love how there are little 'extra' bits added to the storyline, kind-of factual information about parts of the scenes you should know about.

Technically this is not a picture book, but I just had to review it.  And really Graphic Novel's are full of illustrations so in a way it is a picture book.  Actually First Second the publishers call it a hybrid picture book-graphic novel format.

A lovely tale of friendship and being a bit different from everyone else.

I got my copy of Odd Duck from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

Oops I couldn't find a copy at Napier Libraries.

Check out Goodreads for more reviews of Odd Duck.

#365PictureBooks 25. Aaaarrgghh, Spider! by Lydia Monks

Monks, L. (2013). Aaaarrgghh, Spider! London, UK: Egmont.

ISBN: 9781405210447
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Poor Spider just wants to belong to a family.  The only problem is that she scares everyone so much that they just want to get rid of her.  What can she do to get a family of her own and be their pet?

Lydia Monks is the illustrator of Julia Donaldson's What the Ladybird Heard. 

Monk's has written and illustrated a most gorgeous story about belonging and finding a home of your own.  The story is told in short simple sentences that younger children will be able to understand.  There are two different fonts and sizes to differentiate between the spider talking and the people talking, and their tone of voice.  It is quite an effective way for children to start understanding how to follow a story and that different people can have a 'voice' in it.  

The illustrations are really bright.  They are a mix of full page images and pages with sequential  images (almost like a graphic novel).  This is a great way of getting the point across about time lapse and that things happen in a particular order.  Ohhh, and there are sparkles!!!  The front cover and a double-page spread towards the back have glitter to depict the spider webs.  Lovely!

The characters are very simply drawn but they are appropriate for the age group this book is aimed at.  The expressions on their faces are so true to life (especially if you are not a fan of spiders!), and even the spider's facial expressions are very easy to determine. 

I particularly like the first page where the room and everyone in it are upside down.  Or are they???  After all this IS a story about a spider, and where you usually find them?

What a lovely book to add to your collection.  Yes, it's about spiders, but at it's heart it is about belonging and being a part of a family.

I got my copy of Aaaarrgghh, Spider! from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 22. Nightbear by Rebecca Patterson

Patterson, R. (2014). Nightbear. London, UK: Jonathan Cape.

ISBN: 9781780080086
Pages: 32
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Nightbear is an old bear.  He has been around for a very long time.  His first owners didn't love him so they gave him away and then he sat for years on the shelf in a charity shop.  One day a little girl bought him and took him home to meet all her other bears.  They all had important jobs but there was nothing for Nightbear to do.  How knows he can be special ... but how? 

This is a gorgeous story, told in the first person by Nightbear himself, about his life as a bear.  It's kind of like a diary.  It is quite a humorous story and leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end.  Beware though ... there are sad bits - like when he gets put in a bag and given away! :-(  With themes of individuality, rejection, Love and acceptance, readers will be able to emphasise with the bears feelings.

The illustrations are colourful and messy.  The backgrounds are all in white or muted shades, which makes the main illustrations show up really clearly.  The images all have an ink outline, but the colouring is painted 'over the lines' - just like kids would do.  They really work with the story ... it's as if Nightbear has illustrated his own book.  Oooh, and it's got a sparkly cover!

Rebecca Patterson was the 2012 winner of the Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

A lovely book for a bedtime read or to read to younger children when they are feeling left out with no friends to play with.

I got my copy of Nightbear from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.

#365PictureBooks 21. Pete the Cat and the New Guy by Kimberly & James Dean

Dean, K., & Dean, J. (2014). Pete the Cat and the New Guy. London, UK: HarperCollins Children's Books.

ISBN: 9780007590803
Pages: 40
Age Level: Early Childhood 0-6
Genre: Picture Storybook
Rating: 4 stars

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Join Pete the Cat on his latest groovy adventure.  There's a new guy in the street and Pete thinks he might be 'his kind of guy'.  But when Pete meets him he finds that he is not the same at all!  Gus is different.  Gus is a Platypus.  But Pete knows that being different is really cool and that makes his special in his own way.  And when Gus can't find what he is good at Pete sais ...

Don't be sad,

don't be blue.

There is something

everyone can do!   

And guess what?!?!  There is something that Gus can do!


I really love the Pete the Cat series of books.  Not just because you can go online and listen to Eric Litwin sing the songs(book?) - He's soooooooo groovy man!!  Dean instills a message into each of these books that teaches children a number of things.  In Pete the Cat and the New Guy the message is all about acceptance, individual differences and friendship.  Just because you can't do what everyone else does, doesn't mean you should stop trying to find your own talent.  And when you do, then groove to it man!

The text is simple and rhythmic with lots of repetition.  It gets the message of acceptance, individual differences and friendship across in a way that younger children can understand.  This is a good book to read aloud and for sharing as there is really too much text for young children to read on their own, however kids will be able to pick up on the rhyming repetition quickly and join in with the story.  

The illustrations are very bright and colourful.  The characters are colourful, and the backgrounds are colourful.  The characters are quite simply drawn, and there is not much facial expression to determine their moods.  Actually with their eyeballs all being in the upper part of their eyes they all have a very 'chilled' look to them - very hippy'ish :-)  

Pete the Cat and the New Guy has a video of the story being read by children, rather than the Eric Litwin songs of his other books.  It is a great way for children to learn the rhythm of the story, while also a chance for them to have the story read to them if an adult or older student isn't available to read.  Good idea for a learning station during class literacy sessions.

This will be another great book to add to our collection.  Both for the message it is trying to get across and for the bright colourful illustrations.  A couple of our year 3 classes last year did lots of drawing activities with the Pete the Cat books.  The illustrations in the book are simple enough for children to reproduce themselves, and they can come up with their own stories to go along with their cat.  They are great to use for book week activities as an alternative to the Mr Men series.  

My one disappointment is that Eric Litwin is not the author of this book, rather it is James' wife Kimberley, and so there is no song to go with it.  Of all the books this one may be a little didactic - and not so happy-go-lucky as the previous books.  Still a great addition to your collection.

I got my copy of Pete the Cat and the New Guy from the Taradale Primary School library where I work. 

You can find a copy at Napier Libraries.