A Duck Called Brian

September 1, 2023
In this Australian import, a duck spends a silly, disastrous day searching for his friend. Brian is a bright blue duck who loves three things: his BFF, Gregory (a yellow duck with a red cap), a cold glass of milk, and his favorite cereal, Duck Nuts. Unfortunately, one day Brian wakes up and finds that he has no milk or cereal left. What a catastrophe! He must go tell Gregory all about it. But Gregory isn't in any of his usual places. So Brian starts to search. A string of increasingly bizarre encounters ensues. All of the other (yellow) ducks are too busy--counting ants, creating a crocodile-proof diving suit, or participating in a sunbathing festival--to help. Eagle-eyed readers, however, will spot Gregory in the background, always heading off to his next adventure. Murphy's squat, identical, jelly bean-shaped ducks are especially comical when packed together in a crowd--a sea of yellow, with one blue duck futilely shouting, "GREGORRRYYY!" Murphy also slips many amusing asides into the art. The ending takes a psychedelic turn, which seems a bit out of place, but it also makes perfect ridiculous sense. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Playful, absurd, and marvelous. (Picture book. 3-7)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2023

Gr 2-4-The puns are coming fast and hard from the end papers on in this picture book that seems to be prepping children for Mo Willems's books or perhaps Dav Pilkey's Captain Underpants. Brian, cereal-loving and loyal, is a standout duck in blue, unlike his yellow cohorts, so maybe his personality was written from birth. Posters for "Ducks of Hazzard" and "Bat Duck" greet readers, as does Brian with a "Well, Hello!" Yes, says the omniscient narrator, he is blue, and what of it? The arch narration states and overstates the humor to make sure readers are paying attention: "Brian came across Peter, who was busy counting ants." Brian asks if Peter has seen his missing best friend, Gregory, and Peter replies, of course, "Sorry, no. I've been busy counting ants." This repetition will push emerging readers along as one absurd event after another unfolds, and no one has seen Gregory. When Brian falls into a magical door, he finds his best friend and they enjoy a bowl of cereal together. Shaggy duck story? Children may love the format; reading it aloud becomes tedious and the ending leaves those with expectations of real triumph in the dust. VERDICT Comic illustrations, friendship, and hundreds of ducks engaged in silly activities may be enough for some readers, but libraries better go with Mo.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 22, 2023
Preschool-Grade 2 Brian is a bright blue duck who can't find his best friend, Gregory, anywhere. The other ducks (all bright yellow) are all doing fun things, such as extreme cake baking, testing crocodile-proof diving suits, breaking the record for the world's largest duck pyramid, taming a dangerously out of control Siberian snow leopard, and participating in a mass sunbathing festival. It all sounds great, but no one has seen Gregory anywhere! Finally, fortunately, Brian falls through a magic door on Free Wish Tuesday and his wish to find Gregory comes true. This increasingly absurdist mini-adventure is full of details to tickle any reader, but specifically those who appreciate silliness. The wide and appealingly colored spreads are delightful depictions of elaborately ridiculous duck-filled shenanigans. There is a Where's Waldo-level of Easter eggs hidden within the spreads, not the least of which is that Gregory appears, slightly disguised, on many of the previous pages. Details like this, when paired with the joy-inducing scenarios and the satisfying repetition of the text, will have children scrambling to read this book again and again.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 17, 2021
Brian the duck is unique—unlike all his yellow duck friends, he is bright blue. When Brian wakes up one morning to find he has run out of his favourite cereal, Duck Nuts, he’s devastated. His first thought is to catch up with his best friend Gregory to talk about it, but Gregory is nowhere to be found. As Brian searches for Gregory, he runs into other ducks in a series of increasingly wacky situations. They invite Brian to join them in their activities but he says no each time, even though it looks like they’re having fun. Eventually Brian finds himself in a magical land where he is granted one wish, which turns out to be a lifetime supply of Duck Nuts. When Gregory jumps out from the box, Brian realises his true wish was to have his friend back. This is a simple, nonsensical book, with colourful visuals reminiscent of surreal children’s television cartoons. There is very little to this story or indeed its characters. While the illustrations are bright and comical, most of the book’s points of interest come from the randomness of the scenarios Brian witnesses in his search for Gregory. This book will coax a laugh out of boisterous kids aged three and up but might be one for parents to avoid at nighttime. Ellen Cregan is a bookseller and writer from Melbourne.