Duck and Penguin Are NOT Friends

by Julia Woolf

Overview

A humorous and ironic look at building friendship on your own terms
Duck and Penguin are not friends, despite what Betty and Maud might have you think. They do not want to swing together, build sandcastles together, and they certainly do not want to play baby dolls together! Friendship is a choice, and being forced to play with someone you haven’t chosen isn’t always fun. Duck and Penguin will let you know when they're ready to be friends, thank-you-very-much.
This laugh out loud tale about the secret world of toys from author-illustrator Julia Wolf makes the perfect read-aloud with a relatable topic and hilarious illustrations that will have children begging for multiple reads.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682631324
Publisher:	Peachtree Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/01/2019
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	430L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julia Woolf has worked for twenty years in animation, including twelve years at Dreamworks in the US. She obtained her MA in Children’s Book Illustration in Cambridge at Anglia Ruskin University. She lives in England, close to the countryside, woods, and seaside—a prime area for sketching.

Julia Woolf has worked for twenty years in animation, including twelve years at Dreamworks in the US. She obtained her MA in Children’s Book Illustration in Cambridge at Anglia Ruskin University. She lives in England, close to the countryside, woods, and seaside—a prime area for sketching.

Editorial Reviews

The energetic, expressive, and childlike illustrations will elicit chuckles…incorporated onomatopoeic words reinforce their displeasure…. the toys bring the point home.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

2019-05-12
Can these toys get along? Not if they can help it.

Duck and Penguin—the toys in question—are the beloved stuffed-animal pals of BFFs Betty and Maud, respectively. The two love playing together and are convinced their cloth companions are equally enamored of their activities—swinging, building sandcastles, baking, painting, and playing baby dolls. However, the girls are so caught up in their own enjoyment that they're oblivious to the enmity between the plush animals. When Betty and Maud briefly leave Duck and Penguin on their own, the toys seize the chance to escape being "itty-bitty babies" and do the things they testily endured earlier—but this time, they've chosen to do so; unsurprisingly, they have fun. Trouble was, the toys disliked having friendship and games imposed on them. Children will likely get this unoriginal message, but there's also a cautionary note for well-meaning caregivers who overenforce togetherness on kids. The energetic, expressive, and childlike illustrations will elicit chuckles as spreads portray how much Duck and Penguin initially oppose each other; incorporated onomatopoeic words reinforce their displeasure. The toys are depicted the worse for wear: Duck trails a thread from an unraveling seam, Penguin's losing stuffing. The ever smiling, brown-haired girls are appealing: Betty is white and bespectacled; Maud is black and wears her hair in two afro puffs.

It's not the freshest take on friendship, but the toys bring the point home. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews

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