Customer Reviews

Duck for President (New York Times Best Illustrated Books (Awards))

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Writing a satirical picture book is very hard work. Yet when author Doreen Cronin and her partner in crime illustrator Betsy Lewin wanted to write a coy clever encapsulation of politics for young `uns, they knew they had a character at their fingertips just itching to be used. Having first appeared in the duo's much loved, "Click, Clack, Moo", and risen to power in the subsequent, "Giggle, Giggle, Quack", Duck is a hero for our times. Now the famous fowl has set his sights on a goal worthy of his stature. He's running for president.

When the book begins Duck is working at Farmer Brown's farm, doing the necessary chores. But this becomes tedious to Duck and he insists on holding an election. Farmer Brown is chagrined soon after to find that Duck beat him fair and square. Duck is pleased with his success, but he soon finds that running a farm is hard work. Very hard work. So, without further ado, Duck runs for governor. Sporting placards that read, "I'm a duck, not a politician!", he visits small-town diners, marches in parades, and (my favorite line in the book), "gave speeches that only other ducks could understand". Duck beats the governor but finds that running a state is, you got it, "very hard work". So it's off to run for the presidency. You see where this is going. After making it into the White House duck finally finds that he still has to do a lot of work. A quick searching of the want ads reveal that Farmer Brown is looking for a good duck. The VP is placed in charge, duck returns to the farm, and the last shot we see of him is as he's writing out his memoirs.

This is probably my favorite book out of all the Cronin/Lewin concoctions. Kids will be amused by duck's antics and the silly ways in which he rises to power. Adults will be amused by the subtle references made throughout the story to contemporary politics. Note that on the title page Duck is looking a heckuva lot like Richard Nixon. Note that his presidential bid comes complete with placards reading, "Duck, making us proud again". Kids reading the tale may also notice the difference between campaigning for state governor and president. Where a person running for the state position walks in parades, and goes to town meetings, a person running for president rides in parades and plays the saxophone on late night television. I was also amused by author Cronin's choice of words. Each time Duck ends up doing work he gets covered in all kinds of junk. As a farmer he's covered in mud, muck, and coffee stains. As a governor he's covered in fingerprints, mayonnaise, and coffee stains. And as president he's covered in security badges, Secret Service agents, and coffee stains. Silly stuff.

There are plenty of picture books out there that deal with showing kids how the political process works. Most of these are dour staid affairs that deal only with the wonders of the president and how "he" can do nothing wrong. "Duck For President" is cannier than that. Through it, kids can read a satire that will amuse both their parents and themselves. They can see that sometimes the politicians we elect are not always up for the job. Using amusing pictures, repetition, and some delightful twists in the plotting, "Duck For President" is a great great book. Buy it if you have a sense of humor. Or want one.

I love Doreen Cronin's work, and this book is no exception- I absolutely loved Duck for President, as did my parents, and my little sister (who is in high school). Cronin's humor is quirky and fun, and her books are always as enjoyable for adults to read as for children.

The reason that I didn't give the book more stars is this: My 6 year old niece, who loved Click, Clack, Moo and Diary of a Worm was somewhat less than enthusiastic about Duck for President. I don't think she quite got the humor of it. I still think it's a great book... But- for the age group that it's aimed at, it's a little off the mark.

I love the other two books in this series, Click Clack Moo and Giggle Giggle Quack. I think this new book is the funniest yet. The story centers on our loveable trouble maker Duck who decides that he is tired of his chores. In order to get out of his farm duties he decides to run for head of the farm. Much to farmer Browns chagrin he is elected but when the job proves to be too much to handle he moves on to the governors office and finally the presidency. There are a ton of insider jokes about politics throughout the book that will go over the kids heads. But that is exactly what makes it so fun for me to read. One particularily funny part has Duck going on late night tv to play the saxophone ala Bill Clinton. Also I am from Florida and there were a few jokes aimed at us relating to sticky ballots lost and close elections. My four and a half year old daughter enjoyed the book because she loves Duck but most of the content was beyond her. The book is very timely now with the upcoming elections and I think most kids can gleam a little of the political process from it while anyone who can remember the past couple of presidential elections will find it hysterical.

If you're having trouble choosing a candidate in this election year, Duck's your man or more properly "your duck." "Duck is Great for 2008!"

In this delightful children's story our hero may be a winner but he was once a very dissatisfied duck. He lived on a farm with many other animals and Farmer Brown. Each of the animals had a chore, and Duck thought farm work was terribly hard. So, he decided that they didn't have to do what Farmer Brown told them to do and he had an election to prove it. Sure enough, Duck beat out Farmer Brown!

Well, it didn't take Duck long to discover that running a farm was actually harder work than doing chores. So, he decided to move on - he'd run for governor. You guessed it, this bird is on a winning streak! As it turned out, Duck soon discovered that running a state was no fun at all. What will he do about that?

Doreen Cronin's clever narrative sings with rhymes, "A fresh bill on Capitol Hill," while Caldecott honoree Betsy Lewin's whimsical illustrations will bring smiles.

- Gail Cooke

I love this book. The pictures are sweet, the illustrations are beautiful, and the message is really clever.
I am 24, and I love this book.

I am a fith grader but I still like to read this book. I think it is very clever because it relates the duck to real presidents like he plays the saxaphone and one of his logos is "I Like Duck." This book can be for all ages including adults. There are numerous hillarious parts in the story. The illustrations are very funny and creative, also. The duck is very adorable so it is hard not to fall in love with the book.

"Click Clack Moo" and "Giggle Giggle Quack" are big favorites at my house; their charming illustrations and witty sentences make them favorites with both kid and grown-up, despite some bits that adults will understand more than kids: how many kids know old manual typewriters and the funny sounds they make? In the first two books, it does not seem to matter: the riotous humor comes from the entertaining idea that cows would go on strike to get electric blankets, or that ducks would argue for a diving board.

"Duck for President" the humor seems geared almost exclusively to the grown-ups, or at least to much, much older children. Duck leaves the farm to run for public office, so we lose the funny interactions between all the animals and their farm humans. My daughter would have preferred more of this compared to the details of Duck's runs for mayor governor and President.

I get the sense that the enormous talents of Cronin and Lewin were twisted towards this topic by an editor with an eye for election-year sales. ...

Duck for President is a very good book. It should have won the Caldecott though. It definitely deserves the 5 stars I gave it. Duck for President is a book about a very hard working duck that wants to make his farm a better place. He runs against the leader of the farm, the ever famous Farmer Brown. This book is a very well written book while also being a very funny and well drawn picture book. Duck wants to help his farm and you can help him by reading this book. -Haley

Laugh-out-loud funny, adults will find this book just as humorous as children. The illustrations are priceless.

I enjoyed reading this one. I am not at all sure which president the author is trying to take a shot at. When I discussed it with friends, half said Bush, half said Clinton. I suspect it goes all of the way back to Grant. Be-that-as-it-may, this is a funny work. I have not read other books by this author, so really cannot make a comparison with his other works, which would be silly to do any way as each work should more or less stand on it's own merits. This is a story of a duck who is tired of working on the farm and goes into politics. I do agree with some of the reviewers in that perhaps a child should be a bit older to really appreicate this work. I do think this is a fun book for adults, and a pleasure to read with children once they understand what is going on. The story is a good concept.