  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 03/01/2013 A little green duck is as blue as the favorite pair of socks he is missing. Where could they have gone? On his hunt the duck meets a fox who suggests asking the ox. The ox tells him to look down on the rocks, but all he sees there are peacocks. This very simple rhyming picture book would work just as well as an easy reader—with much better artwork than often seen in that format. Illustrator Ruzzier has fun with the idea (when the duck is tossing stuff from his box as he tries to locate the socks, he comes up with everything from one die to a pair of underpants), and the characters, simply drawn in ink and watercolor, all have their own personalities. The ending won’t be a surprise to the eagle-eyed, but those who guess where the socks are will enjoy their superiority over Duck. Just one quibble: the key line, which has a little peacock showing the socks to Duck, sounds like Yoda-speak, and kids may trip on it. Otherwise, good fun. - Copyright 2013 Booklist. School Library Journal - 03/01/2013 PreS-Gr 1—A small green duck has lost his new blue socks. He looks for them in his toy box and consults his friends the fox and the ox. He does not find them among other socks on the rocks, but his peacock friends help him find them. The short, repetitive rhyming sentences are a good fit for beginning readers, and the large trim size allows plenty of space for the watercolor and pencil illustrations to provide clues to solve the humorous mystery. This is a whimsical delight for children whose parents clamor for phonics-based books.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2013 cadence of Bunting’s rhyming text lends itself to reading aloud, but older beginning readers up to a few challenging vocabulary words might also successfully tackle this on their own, especially once they’ve heard it read a few times. Ruzzier’s pen and ink and watercolor illustrations keep the mood calm with soothing, subdued shades of blue, green, and yellow predominating, and the small green duck is a sympathetic little guy as he dejectedly searches for his socks in his pinkish-brown oxford shoes, one of which is untied for much of the book. Small, well-chosen details add further interest to the backdrops, as in the duck’s search through a box that produces a starfish, a soccer ball, and a pair of underpants, but no socks; or in the presumed baby portrait-of an egg-sitting on his bookcase. Young children with strong attachments to particular garments will easily relate to the duck’s need to find these special socks, and busy adults who have mislaid many an important item will sympathize as well. Use this in a sock-themed storytime, or pair it with Seuss’s Fox in Socks (BCCB 5/65) for a readaloud session or phonics lesson that will knock their socks off. JH - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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