Selected Reviews for Duck, Duck, Dinosaur
Kirkus
Sibling competition is muffled beneath the wings of loving Mama Duck in this oblique pondside parable. Though the first duckling to hatch, Feather is the most insecure. “I AM big,” she boasts, lording it over her drooping younger brother Flap. “I am full of bigness.” But then, out of the third, oddly humongous egg in the clutch, comes Spike—a massive green dinosaur whose first, roared word says it all: “BIG!” The tension continues as Feather’s claim to be “sweeter” after bringing Mama a flower is trumped when Spike lumbers up with an entire flowering tree (“SWEET!”) and culminates, after a splashy dip in the pond, with all three sibs wet and shivering. “That won’t do,” says Mama. “Who wants a cuddle?” In the ensuing cozy scene, as throughout, Vidal’s large, soft-edged, broadly curved figures create an underlying visual harmony that takes the edge off the trio’s rivalry. But not only does Spike’s outsized presence arrest a slide into blandness, occasional touches such as a final view of Mama Duck with a watering can, sprinkling the pond greenery, add further whimsical elements. Moreover, Mama Duck’s equal and unfeigned delight with all three of her hatchlings sits at the story’s center, serving as both a worthy model for parents and potential reassurance for sibs unsure of their places in the family pecking order. Ultimately, with differences at least temporarily forgotten, everyone here is, as Spike puts it, “HAPPY!”
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JBrary
This one immediately caught my attention. Three eggs hatch revealing a duck, a duck, and a dinosaur! A cute story about sibling rivalry with a diverse animal family.
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Youth Services Book Review
This was definitely a cute book. I love how it teaches the importance of a particular family value: being different. You can't get more different than a duck and dinosaur and it was so cute seeing how the dinosaur and the ducklings show off.
Feather and Flap are the ducklings and they do as siblings do, trying to one up each other and show off to their mom, but in adorable and hilarious ways. Then along comes their little brother Spike, the dinosaur, doing hilarious dinosaur things. In the end though, their mom shows them unconditional love and how they all need to respect and appreciate their differences.
I love morals like that. This one is a great book for kids.
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Northumberland News
Mama Duck’s eggs are hatching and the first two result in cute baby ducklings named Feather and Flap. When the third egg hatches, out comes a dinosaur who is named Spike. While it is an odd family to be sure it is a wonderful family where they look after and care for one another. Fun, colourful illustrations will keep children entertained as they read the simple story.
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Outnumbered 3 to 1 Blogspot
Duck, Duck, Dinosaur is written by Kallie George and illustrated by Oriol Vidal. Mother duck is taking care of her 3 eggs and as each one hatches she gives them a name. When the last one hatches he is quite different than the rest but no matter…she names him Spike. Together they have a blast as a family. This book is exactly the type of humor little ones love because it is so silly!
All four of these fabulous picture books for ages 4 to 8 have fun illustrations which (in my opinion) are just as important as the story itself when it comes to picture books. The pictures are engaging and a joy to look at. These would make a great addition to any child’s bookshelf.
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Info Dad Blogspot
The mother duck and two ducklings in Duck, Duck, Dinosaur are more ordinary than Dill, but Kallie George adds something extra-ordinary to the mix—a very big something. Mama Duck is first seen awaiting the hatching of her three eggs, one of which is suspiciously larger than the other two. The first two eggs hatch nicely, with the two fluffy ducklings immediately becoming hyper-competitive as to which is bigger, Feather or Flap. While they argue, the third egg—the gigantic one—cracks open, and out comes a dinosaur that, thanks to Oriol Vidal’s illustrations, looks strange even by the standards of children’s books. He is all head (vaguely that of a predator, but with blunt teeth and pronounced overbite) and feet (gigantic ones), with almost no body at all. Mama Duck, filled with mother love, simply names him Spike and sets about enjoying her newly enlarged family. Now all three hatchlings compete for attention: Feather brings Mama a flower, so Flap brings a whole bouquet, and Spike rips a huge tree out of the ground and makes it his present to Mama Duck. Spike talks only in single words and sounds: “Sweet!” “Funny!” “Brrrr!” The two ducklings are much more expressive and argumentative. But in the end, the differing personalities and sizes – and species – matter not a whit, because “under Mama’s wings, no one was bigger, or sweeter, or funnier, or better. They were all the best. The best family.” And there you have a dinosaur-sized helping of warmth that will elicit an “awwww” from young readers—or at least from adults
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CM Review
1/4 – In this charming book, a mother duck’s eggs hatch to reveal three unlikely siblings: two ducks and a dinosaur. Even so, mother duck feels very lucky to have a “big, happy family” and loves all three of her children. Duck, Duck, Dinosaur has become a fast favourite for my five-year old daughter. Every time we read it (and she does look through it on her own as well), she laughs at Vidal’s adorable digital illustrations and can recite the text. There is a subtle message of acceptance in this story: mother duck and the duck siblings accept, and do not question, Spike even though he looks so very different from them.
Feather, the oldest duckling, is very self-focused; Flap, the second duckling, does his best to keep up with his older sister; Spike, the youngest, is the scene stealer. For example, when Feather brings Mama a flower, Flap wants to show his “sweetness” too, and so he brings Mama a bouquet. Spike outdoes them both, though, by bringing Mama a tree, roots and all.
Even as a parent who has read Duck, Duck, Dinosaur numerous times with my own child, I enjoy the story immensely and love that my own kids pick up this book to peruse on their own.
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A Mom’s Spare Time Blogspot
Nothing makes a librarian quite as happy as finding the perfect book to fit a request. Someone was just asking me for a book about showing off to get attention, and here came this one! These three siblings are continually trying to show they are the sweetest, the funniest, etc.—with some over-the-top results on the largest sibling's part. Fortunately, Mama Duck doesn't single anyone out, but is delighted with all her offspring. In the end they decide "They were all the best. The best family."
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Literary Hoots Blogspot
Three eggs in a nest begin to wiggle and wobble, until CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! It’s a duck...duck...DINOSAUR! Meet Feather, Flap, and Spike. They’re three unlikely siblings who each want to stand out. But together, they make the biggest splash!
So I've recently become quite the fan of Kallie George, what with all the Magical Animal Adoption Agency books I've been reading (book 1 & book 2), and I was pretty dang excited to see this new picture book from her. It did not disappoint! It was downright ADORABLE. George expertly captured the competitive sibling relationship and ever loving mother. Combined with the action-packed illustrations of the cute family...the book is just excellent.
It also makes for a super awesome readaloud; all the different character voices—especially Spike's lines!—are so fun. It's perfect for storytime. A touch of humor, a lot of cuteness, and altogether a great book. The half-star off is my small observation that it felt a bit formulaic (not as memorable) but really, I'd still use it.
A definite pick-up for storytime and a recommendation to try it out. Readalikes include Wolfie the Bunny and Mother Bruce.
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Mom's Bacon Blog
This story is in the same vein as the film called Lambert the Sheepish Lion, a Disney animated short film that was released in 1952. For those who have never seen the movie, it’s about a lion cub that is mistakenly left with a flock of sheep by a stork and grows up knowing he is quite different from his siblings. In Duck, Duck, Dinosaur, we get to meet Feather, Flap, and Spike. They all hatch together in their eggs, but one of the siblings stands out. While two of the siblings are ducks, Spike is a DINOSAUR! Just like Lambert, this picture book captures your heart when all the siblings make a big splash together. This is the perfect book for all kinds of families, particularly ones that are blended! Just because you may not be blood related, families come in all shapes, sizes, and SPECIES and this playful and clever story has a dino-sized heart. Awwww!