Special Delivery

by Elliot Kruszynski

When you're waiting for a new baby, expect the unexpected! Today is a very special day. Little Duck is expecting the arrival of her new baby brother! But Delivery Dude keeps bringing the wrong babies. First a baby mouse, then a dog, a cat, a walrus, a giraffe and finally a baby elephant. ‘These babies are NOT my brother!’ shouts Little Duck – but Delivery Dude insists that he never makes mistakes. Little Duck’s house is filling up to the rafters when the doorbell rings again. ‘NO MORE!’ shouts Little Duck, but thankfully this time Delivery Dude is followed by his Stork boss, a load of very cross parents who have come to collect their babies, Little Duck's Mom and Dad... and one last very special delivery... . Kruszynski’s simple but expressive illustatrations capture the anticipaton and frustration of the little duck to hilarious effect.

Genres: Animals, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 15, 2020

About the author

Elliot Kruszynski is a graphic artist whose clients include the New York Times Book Review, the Telegraph (UK), Anorak, Vice, and AirBnB. He lives in London.

Reviews

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/kidsfi...

SPECIAL DELIVERY is a delightfully silly picture book. A little duck is eagerly awaiting the delivery of her baby brother. However, then the delivery person arrives, he brings a baby mouse. Duck tells him that he's made a mistake and that is not her brother, but he informs her that he does not make a mistake. He leaves and soon arrives back with another baby who is not her brother. As he keeps returning with new baby animals, Duck is getting frazzled. Finally, after several wrong deliveries, the manager Stork appears, bringing the parents who were awaiting their little ones, and delivers the correct baby to Duck.

What I loved: This is a simple but silly story that is sure to make kids giggle. The book is written in dialogue, and so it is a fun opportunity for different voices while reading. Children will enjoy the baby animals and the mistakes that the delivery turtle is making. There is also an underlying message about not being overconfident and checking your work for mistakes that is a solid lesson learned by Turtle.

The text is easy to read and quite simple throughout, with lots of repetitive words, great for early readers. This is a silly book with a lot of charm and baby animals that will appeal to little ones.

Final verdict: Silly fun, SPECIAL DELIVERY is a cute picture book about making mistakes and family.

Please note that I received a review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always fun to have something arrive in the mail or through special delivery, and a young duck eagerly awaits the delivery of its new baby brother. But to his surprise, the turtle delivers several other "packages" or babies that don't belong with the duck. Despite the duck's insistence that a mistake has been made, the turtle won't back down or take the animals back. All of this leads to a very crowded, noisy house. A stork arrives to sort things out, return the babies to their rightful parents, and leave the right duckling with its brother. The book is silly entertainment, and might be useful to share with a youngster whose own family is getting ready to grow. Young readers may enjoy seeing how the baby animals being left are growing in size in those colorful illustrations, starting with a mouse and ending with an elephant, and the text makes it clear that the duck is becoming more annoyed with each ding of that doorbell.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, flippant, for-sharing story of a creature who's desperate for its baby brother, but gets a lot more than bargained for, when copious newborns keep getting delivered, but not the right one. Easy to read text, colourful and simple shapes for the animals, and of course the comedy of the scenario add up to a success. I'm sure it's designed to encourage discussion of new arrivals ("the house is getting a new baby", we're told, which simplifies the issue as something to be enjoyed), and I'm sure that it'll be a success in that regard too.

[Amy Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to agree whether I enjoyed this book or disliked it. Children enjoy the repetition evident in the plot however enhancing the misconception that animals deliver babies as suggest within the likes of the Disney classic 'Dumbo' can have a negative response in a child's education after that.
I enjoyed the illustrations and they matched the story's fast pace.
It is a good piece of light-hearted fun but I would not read it as a teacher in class.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bird waits for the stork to deliver his new brother, but instead a tortoise comes to his door with a baby mouse. "That is not my brother!" he says. The delivery tortoise swears he hasn't made a mistake, but then he comes back with a kitten, and a puppy, and a string of other baby animals. Cute pictures and repetitive text give this one a lot of storytime potential.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silliness ensue as an inept story keeps making the wrong deliveries.