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The Barnes & Noble Review
"One day down on the farm, Duck got a wild idea." Now this feathered fellow has gone from paddling to pedaling. Duck is cruising on a shiny red bike through the farm, rainbow streamers blowing in the wind. As he happily rides along, his barnyard pals don't take the sight of Duck on a bike lightly. Sheep is worried. Dog is impressed. Pig and Pig are jealous. But every animal Duck rolls by is at least a little intrigued. This duck with pluck is having a ball, and his enthusiasm turns out to be contagious. When a band of kids on bikes leave their wheels unattended, the entire barnyard gang gets a taste of joyriding, and Goat literally sneaks a taste of his bicycle's basket.
Award-winning author and illustrator David Shannon charms young audiences again with this richly illustrated quack-up tale. Fans of Shannon's No, David! and A Bad Case of Stripes will be happily familiar with Shannon's vibrantly colorful illustrations. The pages in this book are alive with motion. You can almost feel the troop of children whiz by Duck, dust flying, thanks to Shannon's pop-off-the-page color and style. This great read-aloud, read-along story is perfectly silly and sweet. In fact, we haven't been this fond of a farm crew since Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin's Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type. Children will be delighted with this fun and funny tale, and they will want to read it again and again. Shannon creates an enchantingly believable fantasy world; flying pigs don't have anything on this Duck on a bike. (Kara Alexander)
Criticas
PreS-Gr 2-The author of several books about a particularly challenging youngster named David focuses this time on the escapades of a very clever duck. The story begins with a bike a boy left behind. Duck tries it out, and all the other barnyard animals protest loudly. First the cow, then the sheep, and then the dog voice their opinions about a duck riding a bike. Cat, Horse, Hen, Goat, Pig, and Mouse chime in with their thoughts but can't help but wonder, Wouldn't it be fun to try it too? Predictably, by story's end, a whole team of riders have parked their bikes at the barnyard and while they're away, the animals play. On bikes of all shapes and sizes the animals fulfill their "childlike dreams," just like Duck did. Shannon leaves a message for young and old alike in this delightful book best suited as a read-aloud for preschoolers. His bold pictures jump out at readers, packed with action and expression. A surefire hit for libraries and bookstores.-Linda Shubert, Alief Ind. School District, Houston, TX Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Grab your funny bone-Shannon (The Shark God, 2001, etc.) rides again! Rather his Duck does, when one day on the farm, he gets a wild idea that he can ride a bike. After the first wobbles, Duck sails past Cow, Sheep, Dog, Cat, Horse, Chicken, Goat, Pig, and Mouse. The oversized animals' reactions range from "How silly" to "Show-off" to "Wish I could ride!" Then a bunch of kids come riding down the farm road and park their bikes beside the house and go inside. The next double spread shows the animals staring ahead with gleeful expressions, like a light bulb lighting up-and readers will know immediately what comes next. The scene of all the animals gaily pedaling bikes is hilarious. And when they put them back, no one knows that 11 farm animals had ever been on a bike. Brightly colored illustrations display a front row, big-screen point of view with bits of images running off the edges of the spread. The in-your-face perspective of the action punctuates the comedy and the page design is ingenious. Even the end page humorously poses the next challenge for Duck-a tractor. The body language of Duck on the bike looks nothing but plausible. A "quackerjack" of a terrific escapade.
From the Publisher
Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Books of the Year, 2003 Capitol Choices, 2002ABC Children's Booksellers Choices Award, 2003Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2003, Highly Commended SMART Book Award, 2007 Nominee* "A 'quackerjack' of a terrific escapade." — Kirkus (starred review)* "This whole bright book is tons of fun." — Booklist (starred review)* "This delightful story will have youngsters chiming in…." — School Library Journal (starred review)
