We first met ‘Duck in the Truck’ when my son was about 3 months old. I had never enjoyed reading as a child, I was always the one who was asked by the teacher why I hadn’t read for two weeks. My husband is also a reluctant reader and I was determined that my son would be encouraged to appreciate books. So, aged 6 weeks, he enrolled at the local library. I was intending to get his books on my card but the librarian assured me it was better that he had his own card as the late fees are a lot cheaper! Since then we have been attending the library regularly to get books to read.
I had heard of Jez Alborough from my days as a teacher but wasn’t sure exactly what he had written. That soon changed, as our family have become huge fans. We initially borrowed ‘Duck in the Truck’ from the library and closely followed that by others in the Duck series by Jez Alborough. We love the stories so much we have to admit we bought our own copies!
~~~ THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR ~~~ Jez Alborough was born in 1959. His first book, Bare Bear, was published in 1985 and it was a runner up in The Mother Goose Book Award. He has written and illustrated over 30 books to date and these include Cuddly Dudley and Where’s my teddy?
~~~ THE BOOK ~~~ First published in 1999 and written in rhyme, the book tells the tale of a duck in a truck that his a rock and got stuck in the muck. His friends all come and help to get the truck out. These include a sheep in a jeep, a goat in a motorboat, and a frog. It’s full of alliteration and wonderful bright and clear illustrations, which really bring the story alive, even though it’s great to listen to anyway.
You can get the book in hard back but I have the paperback edition. It comes with great reviews including :
‘Alborough’s pictures are addictive, combining graphic simplicity with painterly qualities… Duck in the Truck is a picture book where rhyme, illustration, wit and inventiveness combine to produce outstanding quality’, TES Primary.
~~~ AGE BOOK APPEALS TO ~~~
It takes just a few minutes to read through the book and certainly, at 6 weeks old, that’s all you do. My son loves the rhythm of the story which can be lost if you ponder to do the, “Where’s the sheep” thing. This however is an important aspect of reading with toddlers and, once the child is ready, time should be given to do this, especially as the illustrations are so beautiful. I would however recommend that you read it all through and then go back so the literary elements are not lost.
~~~ PUBLISHING DETAILS ~~~ It is currently published by Picture Lions, which is the children’s division of HarperCollins Publishing Ltd. The current price for the paperback edition is £4.99. Amazon do provide some of Jez Alborough’s books at reduced prices although they tend not to reduce some of them. Other books in the series include: Fix it Duck and Duck’s Keys and Captain Duck.
www.fireandwater.com ISBN: 0-00-664717-0
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I love reading to my little girl, and more importantly she loves it! She gets more excited when you pick up a book than any of the thousands of toys she's got! You can't so much as walk past the bookshelf without her crying for you to get a book to read to her (and she's only 9 months old!!). I've never read any of the Jez Alborough books but one called Hug by him is recommended in the Bookstart booklet I got (encourqaing you to enrol your baby at the library!) Which lead me to your review, which was great! Lol x
Jordon 10.01.2005 17:51
Sounds lovely x
myth 10.01.2005 10:47
Love the "Duck" books have you read wheres the bear? great review Shez :)
Advantages: Lovely easy reading book with, good size text and great illustrations. Disadvantages: It's part of a series so expect to be asked to buy the other stories :-)
Advantages: Lovely easy reading book with, good size text and great illustrations. Disadvantages: It's part of a series so expect to be asked to buy the other stories :-)
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