Duck and Penguin Do Not Like Sleepovers

Duck and Penguin Do Not Like Sleepovers

By Author / Illustrator

Julia Woolf

Genre

Friends and family

Age range(s)

3+

Publisher

Andersen Press Ltd

ISBN

9781783449170

Format

Hardback

Published

06-08-2020

Synopsis

Betty and Maud are having a sleepover in a teeny weeny tent, and that means that Duck and Penguin are too. Betty and Maud can't wait! Duck and Penguin aren't so sure... When the girls head back to the house after too much fizzy pop, their favourite toys are in for a long, scary night alone. Will Duck and Penguin learn to love sleepovers after all? A second side-splitting insight into the secret world of toys, from former Dreamworks animator and illustrator Julia Woolf.

Reviews

Joanna

The sheer excitement on my children's faces when we discovered another Duck and Penguin book!! Duck and Penguin is completely brilliant, we absolutely loved Duck and Penguin are NOT Friends.

The pure genius of these books is that the love/hate relationship of Duck and Penguin is very realistic to the love/hate relationships of young children which changes so quickly. Once again Maud and Betty, who are best friends, are getting together for a play date, only this time they are having a sleepover. This means Duck and Penguin have to spend the whole night together, much to their horror. Betty and Maud are completely oblivious to their toys' dislike for each other and believe they are all going to have a wonderful night - in a teeny weeny tiny tent.

The narrative cleverly links with the illustrations as Betty and Maud set up their sleepover in the narrative, whilst Duck and Penguin fight and argue in the illustrations. The toys are dressed in onesies (my favourite irony being that Penguin is dressed up in a Duck onesie) and they all settle down for the night. Until, Betty and Maud need a wee and run back to the house, leaving Duck and Penguin outside in the dark tent with strange sounds outside. Together, Duck and Penguin try to make it back to the house, but all the scary noises frighten them and they stick together to face their fears. The illustrations cleverly show that now the toys are no longer fighting, but clinging to and cuddling each other.

As before, the illustrations are clear and humorous, the front cover itself showing the dislike the toys have for each other with oblivious Betty and Maud. The beauty of this story is the journey of the toys, finding relief and comfort in each other when put in situations of dislike, fear or contempt. I also enjoy the sleeve pages - the beginning showing all the ways they dislike each other and the ending showing them smiling and getting along.  This story is reminiscent of Toy Story, where the children play games happily, believing their toys all get along, but in reality when the children are gone, they dislike each other.

I absolutely love the Duck and Penguin stories, they are fun, humorous and enjoyable to read. There is something very loveable about these toys and I know many other parents who have fallen in love with them also.

Picture book / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+

 

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