Customer Reviews

Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 ½" x 6 ¼" 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.

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.

This is my daughter's favorite book. She is 11 months old and has practically destroyed it in the month that we have had it. She searches the room looking for it and keeps going back to the duckling page to feel the fuzzy part. The way the pages turn from shapes into animals when the flap is lifted is great. It's like a big game of peekaboo.

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.

Matthew Van Fleet's Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings is a delightfully fun way to teach children about touch, color, shapes, and animals. The book is very compact, yet it is filled with many different ways to entertain your child as you read. Mr. VanFleet has taken the fold-out book to a new level by incorporating an idea into each turn of the page. What is a yellow round circle is also soft to the touch, and in a turn of the page--voila--the soft round circle becomes duckings! The book takes children from shapes to sharks and from blue to sticky. Truly a funtime for all. Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings is a book your children will want to read again, and again.

This book is colouful and excellent for children to "prod" as you read it aloud and uncover the animals. Excellent present - much appreciated by several new parents of both boys and girls. It is worthwhile even before they are really old enough for books since it is so colourful and fun. Different coloured shapes and textures appear, and when you open up the page, the shape turns out to be part of an animal. Don't miss the counting book in a similar style for when they are a little older.

I love this book. It's possibly my favorite gift to give a toddler (unless I don't like the parents, in which case it's a musical instrument). It's not a story, just a page stating the texture, color, and geometric shape...then you lift the flap, and hey! that shape turns into an animal, and it gives the child the name for that, too.

The illustrations are amazingly appealing, with great expressions, though they do have a strange tendency to be biting another animal while looking cheerful and mischievous--but it's still quite cute, even in the put-upon expression of the bitees. The textures are innovative too--sure, you expect woolly for the sheep and furry for the koala, but did you expect the sandpapery blue for the shark, or the sticky pink for the frog's tongue?

It even has a fold-out at the end where all the animals introduced interact in a Yertle-the-turtle-esque tower of animals.

But...I don't know why it says ages 4-8. It should be 2-5, or so--children in grade school would be insulted by the baby book. Once a toddler has gotten past the idea that books are for ripping or flailing about, flap books are fine.

I am an English Teacher in Japan. I originally bought this book for one of my special education class, however, the adults in my ofice love this book so much that I have to order another one. Children and adults alike get a kick out of the peek-a-boo features but most of all by the TEXTURES!! A great book to add to any collection.

My 13 month old adores this book and reads it constantly with us and on her own. The thrill of the peek-a-boo effect wins her over every time. Only negative is that with her enthusiasm also comes enthusiastic page lifts to find the animals and this has led to ripped and bent pages.

Children can learn lots of things with this wonderful book -- colors, shapes, numbers, name of animals. There is a beautiful surprise on every page to be touched and petted.