Oh Dylan! - Tracey Corderoy > Reviews (1)

Oh Dylan! By Tracey Corderoy

Oh Dylan! Is a book out this year by the Author Tracey Corderoy. The reason I picked up this book is the fact that the book has the same name as my son.

The book has a picture of a cute looking duckling on the front in a field of daisies which are covered in sparkly textured coating which is continued throughout the book. The great thing about this covering is the sparkles attract the eye yet unlike glitter does not fall out over time.

The story is based around four ducklings: Polly, Molly, Holly and Dylan. The story starts when they are making a daisy chain which Dylan decides in more like a train. The ducklings are off for their very first swim .Their mother tells them to hang onto the daisy train so they don’t get lost. Co incidentally the name Dylan means Son of the sea so a very appropriate name for a story of a Duckling off on his first swim.

The story

The journey begins and they start singing a song when they spot a feather. They then cross a bridge and the ducklings want to play with the lambs so their Mummy counts them into the field and soon they realise Dylan is missing. Dylan has chased after the feather to give to his mum and is stuck up a tree. Oh Dylan is what Mummy says when she realises he had been silly but also kind. The walk continues and the ducklings carry on singing and sniffing the flowers. The duckling start rolling down the hill and mummy checks she has all her chicks but once again the Dylan disappears and after returning in as he rolls down the hill with a bunch of flowers for his mummy. Once again she says Oh Dylan and reminds him of the rules to let go of the daisy chain.Eventually they reach the pond and Mummy is very relieved they have all arrived safely. The girls won’t get in as it is too cold but Dylan splashes in and encourages the others in the water. After walking home holding onto the chain mummy makes tea and when it is served. All the ducklings come to the table except one which is as usual Dylan .After a search around for Dylan they find he is fast asleep and all worn out.

Writing style and Illustrations

I found this book full of rhythm and rhyme. The words flowed and the descriptions and exaggerations in actions seemed to help hold the little ones interest. All the songs are written in poetry which the language used is also uplifting. The girl’s names been Molly, Holly and Polly all rhyme which does make Dylan’s name stand out from the rest. The book is illustrated by Tina Macnaughton. The illustrations are pastel and with the flowers textured and sparkly. This I do find helps my son have something to do while I am reading the book but equally his hands can get in the way of the words. This is a nice addition to the book and something unusual from what you normally see. It is very difficult to tell the ducklings apart. The Pages are filled with pastel colour and this gives the young child plenty to look at while listening to the story.

Our Experience

This book did stand out to me initially due to the name.

I don’t think I would of taken much notice of this book had it not been for the name with the illustration of a fluffy duckling I would of thought it to girly and young. I did however find a book that would in my opinion work equally well for girls and boys that are of a preschool age. My three year old son did sit and listen to the story intently found the songs written in poetry really helped the book flow and kept it very upbeat. The Illustrations did compliment the book. I think we were both able to connect with the character Dylan and certainly saw traits of my son who does get completely distracted with what he is doing when something catches his attention. The fact he seems to burn off all this extra energy with his zest for life and extra adventures also seems to apply to my son. The book I would describe as a heart warming book, full of love and caring but also extra adventures from Dylan. We both thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and we now do have a catch phrase “Oh Dylan” which makes a point and also can be taken in a light hearted way so can be used to convey a message without a tantrum. I find the language, length of book and vocabulary ideal for my son. I think a year ago he would have found it difficult to concentrate through the whole story but he is quite a restless child.

While I do love this book I have questioned whether we would love this book had they used another name and I do think we would enjoy this book and certainly would of been able to connect to the boy duckling even if he had another name. I do think the book having his name adds that extra dimension to the book for us.

Recommendations

I do think this is a great book for any preschool child. It is uplifting entertaining and provides humour to the reader. I have found this book available on Amazon. The hardback version is £9.89 but currently out of stock and there is also available in paperback it is £4.93 with super saver postage.
Paperback book ISBN no. 184895137X
Hardback ISBN No. 1848951361

Overall we both recommend this book to other preschool children.