Sharon G. Flake

Normally I do like to include a first sentence, but sometimes Amazon samples are absolutely unhelpful. If you can't preview the first page of a picture book, then why bother.

Premise/plot: Cat and Duck are back. These two "friends" are back for another adventure. Duck is convinced that he is allergic to Cat. But instead of creating distance and space between the two, Duck is more stuck on Cat than ever. Cat hopes, perhaps, that Duck will go away. Alas, Cat is not the source of Duck's sneezing.

My thoughts: These two are very silly. Are they as delightful as Elephant and Piggie? No. Not really. The book descriptions sure do like comparing these two to Elephant and Piggie. They do have some surface level similarities. Two friends banter back and forth in speech bubbles.

I liked this one okay.… (more)

First sentence: I am a cat. Meow. You are not a cat. You are a duck. Quack, quack.

Premise/plot: A cat and a duck quibble and fuss. Duck is definitely getting on Cat's last nerve. Duck insists that *today* he is a cat. Yesterday Duck was something else. Tomorrow Duck may be something else. But Duck is a cat...today...and insists on following Cat around.

My thoughts: Cat definitely had decided opinions on what is "regular." Cats meow. Ducks quack. End of story. Cats cannot be ducks. Ducks cannot be cats. And Cat doesn't have time for nonsense. Perhaps if Duck wasn't so insistent at being glued to his side. If Duck had gone away, far, far, away then would Cat have cared if this Duck wanted to meow? Maybe. Maybe not.

I liked this one okay. It was silly. It had humor. It's an early reader with speech bubbles.… (more)

Adorable! Duck is seemingly allergic to Cat and has Cat do all kinds of crazy things to make Duck feel better. When it gets to be too much for Cat and tensions run high, Duck explains:

"You are my best friend. And even if you make my beak tickle and wiggle, my eyes swell up, and my whole body feel like it's covered with ants, I would rather be with you than with anyone else in the whole wide world."

Sniff.

But why does Duck have those bloodshot eyes? I could have done without those. Aside from that, this book deserves multiple readings, especially as a fun read-aloud.

Note: I received this as a promo copy for review.

#AstraBooks #AstraYoungReaders… (more)