Quackenstein Hatches a Family

by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen, Brian T Jones

Overview

family to play with and love. All of them, that is, except Quackenstein. Lonely and bitter in his ramshackle corner, he decides to adopt an egg. He cares for it diligently, waiting until the moment when it will hatch a baby duck of his own. On a dark and stormy night, the egg hatches, Quackenstein cackles, and lightning strikes, but wait—what’s this? That baby’s not a duck! What will he do? Where can he hide? And will Quackenstein ever find someone (or something) to cuddle? Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen’s clever rhyming text is perfectly paired with cute and spooky art from Brian T. Jones.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613124475
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Sales rank:	658,326
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen visits schools to share her stories, and teaches writing. She lives in New Jersey with her three children. Visit her online at www.sudipta.com. Brian T. Jones is a graduate of the Otis College of Art and Design whose work has appeared in the New Yorker. He lives in Pasadena, California. Visit him online at www.briantjones.com.

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 2—Quack the duck is grumpy. All the other animals in the zoo have someone to love and snuggle with, but Quack is alone. It doesn't seem to occur to him that the signs on his shack, "KEEP OUT ALL!! JUST LEAVE ME BE!" might account in part for his solitary status. One day he comes upon a basket of eggs with a sign that reads,"ORPHANED EGGS/HOMES NEEDED" and he decides to adopt one. He eagerly awaits its hatching, but when it does, he is horrified. What emerges is not the fuzzy duckling he had hoped for, but a red-eyed, sharp-clawed "monster." Quack runs away in terror, the "monster" in hot pursuit. Eventually it corners Quack in a cave and he fears the worst. When the monster says, "Hello, Dad," Quack's heart melts, and he and his son—a platypus—walk off, wing in paw. The idea that prospective adoptive parents would not only abandon, but would also be horrified when the child is not what they expect, or has a birth defect, creates a potentially hurtful scenario. The acrylic illustrations with touches of Photoshop feature murky blues and purples and are not likely to have a great deal of child appeal. Keiko Kaza's A Mother for Choco (Putnam, 1992) is an excellent antidote for the message this book sends.—Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

School Library Journal