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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for 3-4 graders, January 2, 2008
With a few students skeptical (they thought they knew the Ugly duckling story), I found that the kids loved this story. Girls loved the animals and the relationships in the story; the boys loved the adventures and the funny parts, esp. The fact that it took place in the southern hemisphere with some unfamiliar animals, gave us lots to talk about during discussions. One of the boys in the book club said that the book made him cry at times but he still liked it. He said, "My mom says if a book makes you cry, then the author has done a good job." Pretty powerful writing to have kids understand that. All my students recommend it!
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Wondeful for kids and adults both, August 9, 2006
My wife and I took turns reading this book to our 5-year-old daughter, and we loved it.
The basic story of the Ugly Duckling should be familiar to most readers, but Napoli develops that core into a truly charming novel. "Ugly" is driven away from the other ducks for being different. He spends the next year encountering other animals, friends and foes alike, until he finally discovers who he is.
Napoli never talks down to her readers, as some childrens' books do. From page one, there's an almost brutal honesty to the story. Ugly is attacked by the other ducks, then his own mother tells him to leave, for his own safety as well as the protection of her other ducklings. Ugly tries to brush off his injuries, to show that he's okay so he doesn't have to leave his mother. His efforts fail, but the scene is a powerful one, with genuine emotion.
At the same time, there's a delightful sense of fun throughout the book. Whether it's Ugly's mother counting her eggs ("One, two, three, many, many, many more, so many...") or the wallaby boxing with Ugly, the book made us laugh any number of times.
Best of all, you learn a great deal about Australian animals. For my daughter, a true animal-lover, this was a chance to learn without feeling lectured. Who knew a wombat's backside could be so dangerous?
It's rare for us to find a book that we love as much as our daughter did. This one's a keeper.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
The Ugly Duckling Story With A Twist!, February 1, 2006
As you might have guessed from the title and cover, UGLY is the ugly duckling story revisited but with a Tasmanian twist. In this version, the ugly duckling is helped by inhabitants of Tasmania on his journey to discovering the truth about himself.
We first meet Ugly while still in his shell, trying to be hatched. His mother keeps assuring doubting ducks that this egg is completely normal and will hatch into a lovely, perfect duckling. This doesn't happen, and so everyone calls him "Ugly."
In a painful paragraph, Ugly's mother finally has to order him out of the flock and send him off on his own before the other ducks attack him. On his lonely journey, Ugly meets a wallaby who carries him around on his back.
After leaving the wallaby, Ugly teams up and lives with a wombat, snuggling happily into the tunnels the wombat has dug. Ugly even loves to sleep in the wombat's pouch, which is usually reserved for baby wombats. Once, when Wombat is out of her tunnel, a quoll begins to attack her. (A quoll, in case you've never heard of one, is about the size of a dog, has a reddish-brown spotted body and a bushy tail.) Ugly sees and hears what is happening, and bravely sticks his head out of the tunnel and takes a big bite out of the quoll's tail, saving Wombat's life.
After several other adventures with different Tasmanians, human and animal, Ugly is finally taken by a friendly, lovely Tasmanian possum to a lamentation of black Tasmanian swans. What they tell him will forever change the way he views himself.
UGLY might have been a bit more interesting if author Donna Jo Napoli had given more details about the various Tasmanian animals, which most readers know little about. It is especially suitable for younger readers who may have just started reading longer books.
--- Reviewed by Robert M. Oksner
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