01/01/2018
In the oddball world of Burach’s story, a dog operates a company called Truck Full of Ducks. “We deliver ducks... Anytime! Anywhere!” boasts one of several signs in the office. After one duck eats the directions to their next delivery location, the dog improvises, asking a variety of citizens the same question: “Did you call for a truck full of ducks?” Burach (Billy Bloo Is Stuck in Goo) tells his story entirely through dialogue, packing it—and his exuberant, crayon-like digital illustrations—with visual jokes and groan-worthy puns. “I called for a truck full of crackers... not quackers!” crows a pirate with a parrot. Eventually, the dog finds his destination in the “deep dark woods,” where the goggle-eyed ducks file nervously into the home of a hungry-looking fox. Luckily, it turns out to be a “bathtime gig”—just another day at work. The story takes a while to build to this moment of tension, but the ducks’ encounters with pirates, aliens, and others are entertaining, and Burach includes an abundance of funny details to discover in each scene. Ages 4–8. Agent: Lara Perkins, Andrea Brown Literary. (Mar.)
Praise for Truck Full of Ducks, by Ross Burach:"Burach will have readers quacking up, both with the frequent repetition of the title — 'Did you call for a truck full of ducks?' is a funny line no matter how often it's read or heard — and over the illustrations… Sight gags and side comments in the pictures add further yuks to this ducky delight." — Booklist"Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations." — School Library Journal"Burach tells his story entirely through dialogue, packing it — and his exuberant, crayon-like digital illustrations — with visual jokes [and] an abundance of funny details to discover in each scene." — Publishers Weekly"Silly details decorate every spread… Storytime audiences will quack up." — Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Billy Bloo is Stuck in Goo, illustrated by Ross Burach:2018 CBC Children's & Teen Choice Book Awards Finalist"Begs to be read aloud… Gleeful, errant nonsense." — Kirkus Reviews"Plenty to linger (and laugh) over." — Publishers Weekly"Lots of giggles and goo, and weird characters too, in this rhyming cumulative storytime read-aloud, make this title a must-have for picture book collections." — School Library Journal
02/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Children will love the zany cartoon drawings in this humorous story about a truck service run by Bernie the dog, who specializes in delivering ducks. The ducks on board the truck are one crazy bunch, consuming everything in sight (from donuts to pizza to a bladder-buster beverage), but when they gobble up the directions to the latest customer, Bernie is forced to head out with little guidance. They encounter a variety of individuals who ordered a truck, just not a truck full of ducks. One girl wanted a mail truck to send her brother far away while another ordered a dump truck, not a duck truck. Each individual they encounter is outlandish. Kids will snicker when Bernie is forced to give the ducks a potty break, will start to sweat when they discover that a fox deep in the dark woods has actually placed the order, and will be tickled by the twist at the end. It turns out that the fox (H. Ungry Fox) has ordered the ducks for his bath time, not for his dinner. VERDICT Children will delight in the extreme silliness of this story and will repeatedly pore over the detailed, colorful, and quirky illustrations.—Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, CA
2017-12-03
Unsure of his destination, can Bernie keep his "On-Time Delivery Money Quack Guarantee"?Delivery-dog Bernie's truck is full of goofy, distracted ducks: one's reading the newspaper, two are drinking a "Bladder Buster" soda—and another ate the directions to his customer's house. So the put-upon pooch must stop everyone he sees to ask, "Did you call for a truck full of ducks?" A little girl didn't; she called for a mail truck to send her little brother far away. The jackhammering construction worker didn't; he called for a "D-D-D-DUMP truck." The pirate (a mass of disability stereotypes: eyepatch, hook, peg leg, and rotten teeth) didn't call for ducks…he called for a truck of crackers (for his parrot, of course), "not quackers." It wasn't the shark (ice cream truck) or the broken-down extraterrestrial (tow truck). By now, the ducks need a bathroom break—and, finally, from the deep, dark woods someone answers Bernie's refrain. It was H. Fox, who makes the ducks more than a bit nervous. The surprise reason? Just as foolish as the entire journey. Burach's tale, told completely in dialogue between Bernie and his possible customers, is only a part of the fun. Silly details decorate every spread of the bright, digitally created, cartoon illustrations, including newspaper headlines ("Stuff Happened"), posters, and the googly-eyed, rambunctious yellow ducks. There is some diversity of skin tone among the humans, but the preponderance are light-skinned.Storytime audiences will quack up. (Picture book. 3-8)
