School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-This book teaches the values of self-expression, determination, and friendship. Toad has glasses and apparently knows how to read, so when Duck finds a pen, he assumes that he will be able to write. The bird is determined to produce a story and works all day to get his ideas on paper. When he hands his composition to Toad after dinner to read to their friends, the amphibian tries to beg off. Then he looks at what Duck has scribbled and makes up a tale about Duck, "reading" it aloud. Otter and Hedgehog are thoroughly impressed with Toad's "reading" and Duck's "writing." The warm, softly colored illustrations suit the calm atmosphere of the story. Children will be drawn to these appealing creatures, true friends who don't expose each other's foibles.-Kristen M. Todd, Middle Country Public Library, Centereach, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Duck's pompous friend, Toad, is busy reading and doesn't have time to talk about the pen Duck found. Duck decides to write his life story and have Toad read it aloud. The illustrations show that Duck's story is just scribbles, but Toad does a fine job interpreting the mess. A comforting message of friendship is embedded in this quirky tale. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Something seems to have been lost in translation in this Dutch picture book featuring a story-within-a-story framework. After Duck asks bespectacled Toad to identify the red pen he found, he is convinced that if his formal, portly pal can read with the glasses he discovered, then he, Duck, can certainly compose a story with his new pen. So he begins to scribble and then asks Toad to read it. Toad's interpretation of the scribbles is a tribute to the friends who saved Duck after his migrating parents abandoned their duckling. With a confusing start, the text is choppy and wrongly implies that Toad is an illiterate fraud. As stand-alone art, the delicate illustrations are lovely, with flowing lines and soft watercolor washes in a marshland palette. But the narrative quality of the paintings is questionable, with sometimes puzzling perspective; plot elements missing in action; and endpaper portraits of a jazzercise Duck that don't jibe with the plot. In the end, this is a duck's tale most fowl, er, foul. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
