So after reading Peter Rabbit yesterday I decided to read another Beatrix Potter book and chose this one. I had never read this one before but had a vague recollection of my husband telling me he read this book to my stepdaughter and that there was something about the book that he didn't like.
Jemima Puddle Duck is a simpleton who wants to lay some eggs. She comes across a fox who lets her lay her eggs in his feather filled woodshed. Will someone save from Jemima and her eggs from this crafty fox.
Hey, look yet another children's story where the fox is the bad guy. Though in this case with the stupidity of Jemima who would even be upset if the fox had eaten her.
Now then let's talk about that thing that I realized right away why my husband was shocked all those years ago....ummm yeah....uh...I can't even begin to say anything about it. I was rather shocked myself. This is a children's book but it take a very very VERY dark turn at the end. I honestly don't know how I feel about it. Up until that end I was really enjoying the story. I loved all the way up till it mentioned the fox hounds. Knowing what I know of them I knew that (spoiler) this was the literally end for the fox. But I read on. Ok so the fox dies. But then the fox hounds eat her eggs. Then at the end she finally does have some babies but only 4 of them hatch.
Whoosh...I really really don't know how I feel on this. I still love love love the classic illustrations. I just don't know what I think of that ending. I think it might be a bit hard for children but it might even be harder for adults to process. As far as rating this I'm a bit stumped. This is a book that makes you think a bit and does do something to your emotions. Does that make it bad? Does making you face harsh realities make it inappropriate for a children's picture book? I don't think it does. Death is something that happens all the time and we can't just avoid it.
Sooo....I think I'm at 4 out of 5 stars on this one.
This is one of those classic picture books that I've heard of but have never read before. It seems that it had a huge presence in the lives of many children and they look back on this one with fond nostalgia. I came into this book only with the recognition have having seen the cover countless times but no knowledge of what the book was about.
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard look fly all over Boston looking for a place to build a nest and have a family. Along the way they make friends with police officer Michael.
Ok maybe it is because I didn't read this as a child but well...I kind of didn't enjoy it that much. I loved the illustrations especially the one with the little duckling who was staring up at the fly. But the story itself was VERY dated. Maybe if I were from Boston and could recognize the landmarks I'd have enjoyed it more.
As for the datedness of the story...weeeellll... I was not to happy with the idea of father duck running off for a week while mother duck is left to care for the babies. The mother duck has to teach her large brood of ducklings how to swim and other things before they make the dangerous trek to where their father is. Crossing busy roads several times. But that's ok because apparently cops have no problem constantly stopping traffic to let a mother duck and her ducklings slowly waddle by.
So uh yeah...This just wasn't for me and I don't mean to offend those that grew up loving this book. But I don't see this going on my bookshelf of books to reread. Again the illustrations are wonderful and I don't regret reading it (it is on the 1001 books list) but I don't ever plan on reading it again.
This is just a 2 out of 5 star read for me.
First off there are apparently at least two different versions of this book. By versions I mean the illustrations. The one I read was illustrated by Edward Sorell. The other version is illustrated by Robyn Belton. Second I had never heard of this book before but it was on the 1001 list so I had to check it out for SOR.
A general and his men are off to war. As they get ready to fire their gun (a cannon) at the town they discover a duck in the gun. The duck refuses to leave as it has a nest full of eggs it is sitting on in the gun. The general carrying a white flag visits the town to ask for the use of their gun. While both sides wait for the duck to leave the giant gun the men do work for the town and the general gets to know the prime minister's daughter.
Ok, why oh why has no one told me about this book before. No Seriously! Why!?! This book was AMAZING! The humor in it was great and I found myself laughing which had my husband asking me what was so funny. In the end, I ended up reading the story to my husband and son to their delight. I tried doing a french accent but failed miserably at it.
The ink drawings were so charming and reminded me so much of books I read in my childhood that were hand me downs from my sister. It also reminded me of some of the Saturday morning cartoons like the hunka cheese advert...if you grew up in the 70s and 80s you are probably singing it right now.
So now listen to me if you have not read this book GO NOW and read it! If you can't find a copy at your local library you can borrow an e-copy through openlibrary.org. I loved this book so much I'm now determined to find a permanent copy for my collection of children's books.
A solid 5 out of 5 stars!
