Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings [Hardcover]

Matthew Van Fleet (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1995 | Age Range: 1 - 6 years

This charming introduction to colors, shapes, and animals has been delighting children all over the world for ten years! There is a surprise on every peek-a-boo page, where textured shapes magically turn into colorful creatures perfect for toddler's touching.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Move over, Pat the Bunny! Patting the ducklings is only one of the highlights of Matthew Van Fleet's engaging, interactive fold-out book for very young children. Every page contains an animal surprise, from the fuzzy yellow ducklings to bumpy brown frogs, fuzzy gray koalas, and more. Children will enjoy touching the different textures and identifying shapes of the seven creatures that populate the book, but it's only when the fold-up page is fully extended that all is revealed--it's not a pink line at all, but a frog tongue! At the close of the book, the animals come together in a wild revelry of shape and color. Every small child needs a beginning book like this, one where they can guess and guess again, delighting in the all the tactile wonders as well as increasing their skills in shape and color recognition. And, if this one is already on the shelf, Van Fleet's One Yellow Lion and Spotted Yellow Frogs are fun, too. (Baby to preschool)

From Publishers Weekly

As he did in One Yellow Lion, Van Fleet once again exhibits a knack for creating animal characters of unusual personality and expressiveness-and he adds to their appeal in drafting them to teach simple identification lessons. Here his captivating cast lurks behind die-cut fold-out panels on each recto page, on which can be seen a labeled shape (circle, crescent, oval, etc.) that has a textured surface. The left-hand pages provide identification clues: thus, a "Woolly White" fleece-like rectangle turns out to be the body of a sheep, grazing with six of his pals. In a particularly comical scene, a "Sticky Pink" line is in fact a frog's tongue, as eight amphibians become entangled in their efforts to catch flies. Like Lion, the book's design is cleanly handsome, with stark white spreads showing only the tactile shape, three words of text and small artwork tied in to the hidden picture. The concluding spread folds out accordion-style to display the entire menagerie; on the reverse is one final surprise formation that any gymnastic troupe might envy. Ages 2-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 1 - 6 years
  
• Hardcover: 20 pages
• Publisher: Dial; 1st edition (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803717598
• ISBN-13: 978-0803717596
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,759 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Matthew Van Fleet's innovative books have been introducing children to basic concepts for almost twenty years. His unique formats invite toddlers to touch, press, pull, lift and even sniff as they explore colors, shapes, numbers, letters, opposites and more.
His books include the #1 New York Times bestsellers Tails and DOG as well as the New York Times bestsellers CAT, Alphabet, Heads and MOO. His first interactive touch and feel book Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings has sold more than 1.3 million copies.
He lives with his wife, two sons and pug dog in Chappaqua, New York.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My baby loves this book! October 13, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This book has it all for babies, tactile and visual fun, great colors, illustrations and textures, surprises under the flaps and variety. I highly recommend it as one of baby's first books.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An interactive smorgasbord for babies and young toddlers! March 22, 2003

By History_of_Art_Geek

Format:Hardcover

Matthew Van Fleet's, "Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings" is a twenty-page, touch-and-feel foldout book about shapes, colors, and animals. It measures approximately 7 ˝" x 6 Ľ" x 1", and is constructed of heavy cardboard with medium-weight cardstock for the pages and flaps. Fortunately, the pages are sealed on ALL three sides, prohibiting toddler renovations. Accentuated by glossy, white backgrounds the watercolor illustrations are expressive, colorful, and entertaining. The text is large, black, and very basic. It begins on the left side of the book, and consists of two-word phrases such as, "Fuzzy Yellow." On the right, is a "fuzzy" yellow CIRCLE, and the word "circle" is printed next to it. The reader lifts the flap, and sees six yellow ducklings incorporated into the texture. Printed to the side, is the word "ducklings."

The book continues in the same manner with a "Bumpy" Brown TRAINGLE turning into twelve grumpy toads, a "Furry" Gray SQUARE becomes four koala bears, a "Scaly" Green OVAL turns into five playful iguanas, a "Woolly" White RECTANGLE becomes seven bashful sheep, a "Scratchy" Blue CRESCENT turns into six mischievous Sharks, and a "Sticky" Pink LINE becomes eight tongue-tied frogs. In addition, the finale is wonderful. It is a four-page, foldout uniting all of the shapes, colors, and animals together in an amusing parade of color and pattern.

"Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings" is a tactile treasure for infants and young toddlers! From the outset, this book captivates children with peek-a-boo flaps, differing textures, and beginner's text. Children adore this book, and learn by means of word recognition and sensation. One could include COUNTING as an extra feature, as we usually count the animals, and it may be the reason why the author/illustrator purposely depicted them in groups of 4,5,6,7,8, and 12. P.S. the grumpy toads are my personal favorite! I recommend this book for children one-year and up as the interactive feature, (lifting of the flaps) is too advanced for younger babies, however an infant would probably find the images, and textures captivating all the same.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Cute book, not recommended August 7, 2004

By L. Craddock

Format:Hardcover

Recently I was with my family in a bookstore and, while browsing, selected this book for my 18 month old daughter to look at. Within two minutes (this is not an exaggeration) she had so wrinkled pages and had torn one page that I was forced to purchase the book--this I did because of personal ethics, but I was most unhappy to spend a whopping $13.00 (not including tax) on a book that could not hold up to even three minutes of toddler handling. My daughter is young, but reads all kinds of books (board and paper pages) and treats them well. This book is easily damaged simply because it is not constructed well, or at least not designed for little hands. The flaps must be turned very carefully, even by me. And that is how the book was ripped there in the bookstore--my daughter was simply trying to turn the page, holding the flap where it is logical and most natural to do so, and the flap could not withstand it. Since bringing the book home we have read it together once (trying to get my money's worth) and already I see that there is another flap that will tear similarly--as soon as someone uses just the wrong angle to the flap when attempting to turn it.

I contacted the author of the book with my complaint and he was very understanding, explaining that the publisher has been cheapening the book by using thinner paper and he knew exactly which two pages were too easily ripped. I know that he is not at fault, and it is a cute book (the sticky frog tongues is a clever addition to the usual textures), but it is not manufactured appropriately for the age group to which it is geared.

So, sadly, I cannot recommend the book at all. There are a lot of cute tactile books out there, and this one does not stand out enough to justify having a book that little ones cannot handle themselves.