Fix-It Duck: Jez Alborough

I requested a copy of Kane/Miller's new board book edition of Jez Alborough's Fix-It Duck because I simply loved Alborough's Hug (which is also a favorite of some kids I know in Lexington, MA). And now I love Fix-It Duck, too. A short, rhyming story, this would make an excellent read-aloud for younger kids.

Duck is sitting in his living room on a rainy day when a drop of water drips into his tea cup. He immediately launches into "Fix-It Duck" mode, setting out to repair the roof. But he doesn't have a ladder, so he sets out to borrow one from his friend Sheep. Sheep mentions that the window in his own roof (Sheep lives in a camper) leaks, and Fix-It Duck is on the job again. The reader rapidly figures out that Fix-It Duck, while well-intentioned, is an uncoordinated and accident-prone menace. But the thing about Duck is that he never gives up when things don't go as planned. He just makes a new plan, and keeps on going. For example, here's when he "fixes" Sheep's window:

He does what he can to close up the gap.
He glues it, screws it and gives it a tap.
(SMASH - picture of broken window)
"The problem," says Duck, "is your glass is too thin."
"My house," wails Sheep. "The rain's coming in!"
"What we need," says Duck, with a glint in his eye,
"is to pull your house to somewhere dry."

And things get more out of control from there, with an added, funny twist revealed at the end.

I found the text in this book quite catchy. It reads like a song. I was making lunch immediately after reading it, and kept hearing "This is a job for ... Fix-It Duck" repeating in my head, in a cheerful sort of way. The illustrations are exuberant and whimsical, with enough attention to detail to reward repeat readings. For instance, the amiable Duck drinks his tea out of a smiley-face mug, while the house-proud Sheep has a vase of colorful flowers in his window, and serves tea in flower-printed mugs. Duck also has a "DUCK1" vanity plate on his car, and a little duck-shaped hood ornament. Mostly, though, what comes across from the deft illustrations are the personalities of the characters, cheerfully clueless Duck, justifiably nervous Sheep, wary Goat, and shy little Frog, who makes an appearance in the end.

The board book edition is sturdy, but in a larger format, with thinner pages, than  many board books. It's an excellent addition to the set of available board book titles. The colors are bright (despite the rain falling on every page), and I expect the book to hold up well to repeat readings. This book is sure to be a hit with the early pre-school crowd. Personally, I'll be keeping an eye out for Duck's other adventures.

Book: Fix-It Duck
Author: Jez Alborough
Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers (U.S. board book edition)
Original Publication Date: 2002 (2007 for U.S. board book edition)
Pages: 16
Age Range: 1-4
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher.

© 2009 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Becky B]

Jen - I am so curious - as a librarian myself - how can you request books from companies - do you just write and ask them??? I see on other blogs that people say they just request them - that is a new concept to me!! THanks for your input!

[Emily]

We love the Jez Alborough books, too. Especially Where's my Teddy? and Duck in a Truck. We were first introduced to them at our library storytime. Now they are some of our favs.

[Jen Robinson]

Thanks for the feedback, Emily. Glad I'm not alone in my Jez Alborough fan-dom.

Becky, sorry that I was unclear about requesting books. I don't just write to the publishers to ask for books. Some publishers, having seen and presumably liked my blog, have contacted me and offered to send review books. Usually in this case they send catalogs, from which I can request titles. I try to be sparing in my selections, because getting greedy is a sure-fire way to having an unmanageable stack of "to be reviewed" books. And I still like to review books that I buy and get from the library, too. Especially older books that I might have missed, books from the many publishers who haven't contacted me about books, etc.

Sometimes publishers will ask me for information before adding me to their list, like how many reviews I post per week, what my readership stats are, etc. But mostly I think they can determine how frequently I post reviews, and whether or not they like the tone of my reviews, from my blog.

So, if you want publishers to offer you books, the best thing that you can do is to consistently publish well-written reviews. I've also had some success in getting acquainted with publishers through the Cybils, and through the book publicists at Raab Associates.

Hope that helps!

[Alkelda]

I'm definitely going to need to request Fix-It Duck for my husband. He comes from a family of extreme DIYers. Here is a prototypical example:

"We need to replace the cabinets in this room. While we're at it, we should knock out a wall to make the room 6 inches bigger. Oh hey, while we're at it, we may as well rewire the electricity. If we rewire the electricity, we should gut the whole room." And so on. When Bede's family lived in Yellowknife, NWT, the government moved the family to a different house every two years. I think they caught on quickly that, given enough time, Bede's family would renovate 1/2 the houses in the neighborhood.