Duck's Vacation

Duck's vacation begins on a quiet beach. But then--"What just happened? Who turned the page?" The fourth wall comes down; readers become part of Duck's story, and with every page turn, Duck suffers indignities. Funny for the audience, not so much for Duck, making it even funnier. The interactive picture-book concept isn't new, but Soffer pulls it off satisfyingly, with spot-on grade-school humor.

“How relaxing. Just me and the sea.” Duck’s vacation begins peacefully enough on a quiet, deserted beach. But then -- “Whoa! What just happened? Who turned the page?” The fourth wall comes down, and readers find themselves part of Duck’s story. With every page turn, Duck suffers indignities and frustrations: a bird poops on him (“Great. Just great”), a crab bites his webbed foot, a beach party breaks out around him. Funny for the audience, not so much for Duck, which makes it that much funnier. “All I asked for was some peace and quiet. BUT YOU CAN’T STOP TURNING THE PAGES!” The interactive picture-book concept isn’t new, of course, but Soffer pulls it off in a satisfying way, with spot-on grade-school humor. His well-composed colored-pencil and graphite-pencil illustrations provide a good balance of white space to help viewers focus on the action, and enough detail to keep repeat readings satisfying. After rain (“It can’t possibly get worse”) and a flash blizzard (“Oops”), things start looking up -- until a bunch of pirates arrive and Duck lands in hot water (literally). Here Duck reaches his own boiling point and walks away from the story. Now the pirates are ready for their own adventures. “Hey, wait a minute! Don’t close the book!” Meta storytime fun. kitty flynn