Funny Frank

by Dick King-Smith, John Eastwood (Illustrator)

Overview

Being a duck isn’t all it’s quacked up to be.

But don’t try telling that to Frank—he’s a chicken with a dream. All he thinks about are webbed feet, waterproof feathers, and the cool water of the pond. So when Frank takes a dip and nearly drowns, his mood turns foul. Luckily, he gets a little human help—in the form of a man-made wet suit and a pair of flippers—and soon he’s the speediest bird in the water. And while Frank knows he’s ruffled a few feathers, he doesn’t care—there’s just too much for him to crow about.

Until a certain young chick catches his eye, that is. . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780307525406
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	03/25/2009
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Dick King-Smith was a farmer for 20 years before turning to teaching and then to writing the children’s books that have earned him many fans on both sides of the Atlantic.

Editorial Reviews

This cheery twist on the ugly duckling story finds a barnyard chick named Frank longing to be a duck. From the moment he's hatched, Frank spends all his time at the edge of the pond. "Chickens can't swim," his worried mother tells him, but he tries anyway with near-disastrous results. Frank is rescued by the farmer's daughter who, with the help of her veterinarian uncle and dressmaker mother, devises a little wet suit for him out of an old hot-water bottle and makes flippers from rubber gloves. Frank quickly becomes not only a speed demon on the pond, out-swimming his web-footed pals, but also a hero when he saves his mother from a fox. Nevertheless full happiness eludes him ("He was after all a chicken at heart"), and when a speckled pullet named Gorgeous catches his eye, he finally learns to embrace life on land. Thoroughly engaging, this story trips along in typically breezy King-Smith (Babe the Gallant Pig) fashion, deftly flipping perspectives between that of the anthropomorphized barnyard animals and the human characters. Chipper dialogue, generous helpings of humor and a lickety-split plot add up to an amusing chapter book. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. (Mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

"This cheery twist on the ugly duckling story finds a barnyard chick longing to be a duck," wrote PW, praising its "chipper dialogue, generous helpings of humor and a lickety-split plot." Ages 7-10. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-4-An amusing chapter book about a chick that wants to be a duck. Eight-year-old Jemima notices Frank's fascination with the ducks and, with assistance from her parents and uncle, tries to help him learn to swim. A wet suit made from a hot-water bottle allows the chick to float, but he still can't glide across the pond like the ducks. Later, however, some chick-sized flippers give him serious speed in the water. Accepted at last by his new friends, Frank returns to his true nature, but not before befuddling a fox and saving his Mum. King-Smith's easygoing narrative makes this a pleasant variation of "The Ugly Duckling." Though the notion of a swimming chick has slapstick potential, the author builds the humor gently, without resorting to caricature. Jemima approaches her trial-and-error attempts to help her chick with logic and earnestness. Frank is the hero of the story, but seeing him through the humans' eyes, and through the eyes of his embarrassed mother, shows how others in the farmyard community regard his antics. Simple black-and-white illustrations appear on most pages, neatly matching the restrained fun of the words. Fairly short chapters and an easy-to-follow plot make this a fine choice for early chapter-book readers.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

A misfit chick achieves his heart's desire only to outgrow it, in King-Smith's (Lady Lollipop, 2001, etc.) latest barnyard charmer. Frank's karma differs from that of his seven newly hatched brothers and sisters, for from the very beginning he yearns to swim with the ducks. Seeing this, his young, human guardian Jemima Tabb enlists adult aid, and soon Frank-so dubbed for his call, which is mid-way between a cheep and a quack-is clad in a little wetsuit crafted from an old hot-water bottle, and zooming about the pond on rubber-glove flippers. But though Frank is accepted by the ducklings (" ‘Love your gear, man! It's cool!' "), and even saves his mother by startling a fox, he still feels like an outsider. As in the story, humans and animals mingle freely in loosely drawn ink sketches, showing the same distress, concern, confusion, and joy. Ultimately, Frank blithely demonstrates that it was all a phase by quickly shedding his swimming gear when a pretty new pullet arrives. Parents of wayward children may be reassured, but for younger readers of independent stripe, the message here seems more than a little condescending. Still, it is a story about a chicken in a wetsuit, as only King-Smith could conceive. (Fiction. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews

Thoroughly engaging . . . chipper dialogue, generous helpings of humor and a lickety-split plot add up to an amusing chapter book.”–Publishers Weekly

“Amusing . . . a fine choice for early chapter-book readers.”–School Library Journal

From the Publisher