Review by Booklist Review
In a tale that demands to be read aloud, wisecracker, firecracker, knucklecracking crook Jack and a cracker-loving duck team up to what else? crack a safe. How? By sneaking the duck inside with a pack of big firecrackers. Unfortunately, when the safe blows, Jack's luck runs out with the duck, as the vault door, having hit the knucklehead a-smack, knocks him out cold to be collared by the cops. Whoever thought a duck could crack poor Jack? Meanwhile, his quacking cohort decamps with the loot, waddling off to snack on soda crackers and plan more crackerjack capers. Tremblay cranks up the wackiness an extra notch with views of a googly-eyed duck rocking a natty bow tie and plaid pants. The fast pace and onomatopoeia will keep plenty of young readers on the hook, and ethically questionable as the episode may be, just listening to its rollicking rhyme will crack more than a few grins.--Peters, John Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Jack is an expert thief, but when he uncovers a safe he can't crack, he smuggles in a cracker-loving duck to blow up the safe for him. Duck manages to open the safe, but Jack ends up with more than he bargained for. This book is short and simple with a pretty silly conceit to drive it, but the rhyming meter is a bit all over the place; it feels like an old jump rope rhyme that has to frantically pick up the tempo in parts to get to the next stanza. This gives the words a fun energy, but fledgling readers will be tripping over themselves due to that choice. Tremblay's illustrations are bright and colorful; cartoonish characters with minimal background give the piece a Bob Staake-feel. VERDICT A fun addition for larger collections.-Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI © Copyright 2018. 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 Kirkus Book Review
A practiced thief takes an unusual approach to stealing a treasure, with unexpected results.Wilker's language crackles and snaps in this brief but hilarious rhyming tale of a bank heist gone awry. Jack ("wisecracker, firecracker, knucklecracking crook") is a safecracker with his eye on a particularly difficult safe "no other nut could crack." Readers will notice that Jack's plan begins before the title page, with Jack setting out a trail of crackers for a mallard drake. Jack's plan? He trains the duck in the lighting of firecrackers and then smuggles it, concealed in a sack along with a supply of firecrackers, into the vault as a bank deposit. When the door blows off that night, however, Jack is knocked outand nabbed for the crimewhile the wily duck goes free to plan another caper: a satisfying comeuppance for such nervy, bad behavior on Jack's part. Tremblay's cartoon art is big and bold, filled with color and pattern, her characters a wonderfully goofy accompaniment to the text. Jack has light brown hair and lighter skin and wears a black burglar's mask, his eyes big and round (as are the duck's), like wheels with their center black dot for a pupil. The font is large and clear; great for early readers who will find the memorable rhymes easy to spot on the page.A blast. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
