Review by Booklist Review
In this sequel to Dodsworth in New York (2007), the beginning chapter book that featured Dodsworth and his quirky pal the duck, the duo is off for Paris. Jauntily wearing an acorn on his head as a beret, the duck tries to heed Dodsworth's rule about not getting into trouble. But how can he resist helping a hunchbacked hippo ring church bells or using euros to make paper airplanes? The deadpan text is matched by the amusing square watercolors, which feature snippets of Paris. An out-of-the-ordinary offering for new readers that moves them to new places, both literally and literarily.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-In this sequel to Dodsworth in New York (Houghton, 2007), Dodsworth and his mischievous duck visit the French capital, exploring street cafes, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre. Though Dodsworth has cautioned the duck, "You can't cause any trouble here," his companion gets into one escapade after another, from escaping the hotel to ring the bells at Notre Dame to folding all of their money into paper airplanes to fly off the Eiffel Tower. Egan's cartoon-style ink and watercolor illustrations enhance the comedy. Kids are sure to enjoy the zany humor and identify with the duck's playful nature. Some French words ("beret," "debonair," "magnifique," "bonjour," "monsieur") are an interesting addition to this easy reader while others are easily understood through the illustrations and context. A few are harder to decipher. Though their inclusion may prove challenging for some students, more sophisticated readers will likely be undeterred. At the end of the story, Dodsworth and the duck are seen floating off in a hot-air balloon toward England.-Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) Having said good-bye to the Big Apple at the end of Dodsworth in New York (rev. 9/07), Dodsworth the rat and his duck traveling companion here say banjo (the duck's mangling of bonjour) to the French capital. The duck's antics are less crazy and thus less hilarious than those of the previous book, and his once-adversarial relationship with Dodsworth has been toned down into friendship. Still, he puts on a good show, as when he engages in a mime-off with a local performer and impressed Parisians throw coins at him. Egan's refined ink-and-watercolor illustrations depict a Paris populated by nattily dressed animals, a place where the duck, despite his apparent attempts to behave, can get into trouble at multiple famous landmarks. He does a fine job ringing the bells at Notre Dame, but things don't go so well when he and Dodsworth visit the Eiffel Tower and he decides to make airplanes with the "paper" he finds in Dodsworth's backpack. The rat is none too pleased to discover that almost all their euros have flown over the edge of the tower balcony. Yet the quest for cash brings the pair closer together, while the serendipitous solution to their problem unearths another one of the duck's talents -- who knew he was a web-footed Monet? From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
