Review by Booklist Review
Here's a "splendiferous" tale of how three word-loving wombats create enthusiasm and optimism in a rather bland forest of "weary" creatures. The trio of wombats is passing though the nice Evergreen Forest, where animals hardly speak to one another and where, when they do, it's with dull, boring, and overused words. A curious duckling joins the three and is "gobsmacked" at all the new words that can be used when communicating with others: sweltering rather than hot, parched in place of thirsty, and exhausted instead of tired. The wombats, with the assistance of their sidekick, help some porcupines, some turtles, and the duckling's family learn new ways of expressing themselves, bringing new energy to the forest. Words are introduced that are fun to pronounce, including skedaddle, chortle, squabble, and hullabaloo. Nichols' charming, colorful illustrations were created using pen and ink, acrylics, and watercolors. "Little Duckling's Ducktionary" appears at the conclusion of the "exuberant" tale filled with a "plethora" of new vocabulary words that readers will take delight in adopting.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Evergreen Forest is "a very nice forest with very nice trees and very nice flowers," writes Ferry (Prunella). It's also very dull, at least until a trio of "word-loving, wandering wombats" arrive and launch a linguistic awakening among the forest's inhabitants. With an eager duckling following along, the irrepressible marsupials teach "tired" and "very tired" turtles new descriptors for their state: exhausted and weary. Catching on fast, the turtles realize after a rest and a snack that revitalized and invigorated best suit how they're now feeling. Inspired, the duckling helps school her own family: why describe flowers as "nice" when exquisite and fragrant are so much more delicious to say? Their work done, the wombats deputize the ducky star pupil with an "Honorary Word Wombat" badge. And when she tells them "things won't be the same without you," they respond with apt assurance: "They'll be EXTRAORDINARY!" Buoyant mixed-media illustrations by Nichols (Finnegan Fox) underscore the forest's transformation with playful textures, round shapes, and mind-expanding words set in bold black capitals. It's a read that relishes how richer words aren't just the stuff of vocabulary lists but splendiferous tools for understanding the world. Ages 4--8. Author's agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. Illustrator's agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media. (June)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A passel of wombats transform a community with their sophisticated vocabulary. Evergreen Forest is "very nice and very ordinary"; some residents, like the little duckling draped glumly over a log on the opening page, might say it's "rather dull." The duckling perks up when a trio of wombats "with words on their minds" come tripping along the path. Describing themselves as "word-loving," the wombats tell the duckling that "words are…'ESSENTIAL!' 'MAGNIFICENT!' 'TRANSFORMATIVE!'" The duckling watches and learns as the wombats help animals who use regular words such asthirsty andtired spice up their vocabularies with alternatives:parched andexhausted. The duckling is therefore well equipped to lead her own family fromhungry andsuper hungry topeckish andravenous, earning herself the title of "honorary word wombat" by book's end. Nichols contributes friendly cartoon personae for Ferry's characters, placing them against a woodsy backdrop. The compositions are minimally detailed, with a small blue slug accompanying the duckling and offering little ones a seek-and-find game on most pages. The wombats' "wonderful words" are set in attention-getting display type; they literally fill the air as the denizens of Evergreen Forest join the word celebration in a conga line. As plots go, it's pretty thin, but young listeners may well come away ready to seek out some new words to love and, inspired by the closing "duck-tionary," to fill their own lexicons. A merry outing for young wordsmiths.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
