Duck's Vacation

by Gilad Soffer

Duck is finally going on vacation. He has a beach chair, a book, and peace and quiet. Well, almost.
When you - yes, YOU - turn the pages of this book, Duck's vacation gets really interesting!

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Humor, Summer, Pirates, Fiction

38 pages, Hardcover

First published May 26, 2015

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Why does a duck need a vacation, and why does the reader's turning of the pages make things so miserable for it? Stupid. Go back and reread The Monster at the End of this Book instead.

(Pahrump)

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Relaxing one day at the beach, Duck anticipates enjoying the perfect vacation, only to find that as the reader turns the pages of his book, his situation becomes ever more chaotic and uncomfortable. From rising winds to noisy people, Duck's seaside idyll is slowly destroyed, and although he pleads with the reader to stop, the inevitable turning of the page leads to frustration and even danger for our anatine hero...

Originally published in Israel, Duck's Vacation is the first picture-book that Gilad Soffer both wrote and illustrated, although he won the Israel Museum's Ben Yitzhak Award for children's book illustration for the artwork he contributed to Yonatan Yavin's Oh, Brother. An amusing metafictional tale, Soffer's authorial debut reminds me of such books as Warning: Do Not Open This Book! and Please, Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe, which also feature characters who address the reader, demanding something from them in terms of their interaction with the book in hand. Children who enjoy stories which break the fourth wall will enjoy this one, finding the artwork every bit as entertaining as the text. For my part, as someone who is always looking for children's books from other parts of the world, I'm glad to see that this was translated into English and made available to American children. Hopefully Mr. Soffer's future efforts will likewise find their way to our shores...

[Hapzydeco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ducky’s protest go on heeded as you, the reader, adds to his woes.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duck wants a peaceful vacation at the beach but unfortunately the reader keeps turning the pages, so it is not that peaceful. Fun interactive book, although one child was a bit anxious about the page turning and felt we should not turn any pages so that the duck could enjoy his vacation.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duck is out on the beach having a relaxing vacation when suddenly, you arrive. And you turn the page! Duck is frustrated because he is on vacation and doesn’t want any kind of bother to happen. And you keep turning pages! As the pages turn, some bad things do start to happen from a bird pooping on Duck’s head to a crab pinching his toes. Then people start to arrive and the beach gets very crowded. It starts to rain and Duck says that it can’t get worse, but it certainly can. There could be snow! Or maybe pirates! Are you willing to stop turning the pages and not find out what happens next?

Originally published in Hebrew, this is a book that will have young readers and listeners giggling as the pages are turned. Duck is such a grumpy thing from the moment the first page is turned. Of course this is a trope used in one of my favorite childhood books, The Monster at the End of This Book. The reaction of characters to a reader turning pages really works well. The reader controls the pace of the reaction, and can delight in causing things to happen in a static book. It is also a set up that works really well read aloud.

Soffer’s illustrations play up the humor to top effect. The crowds of people who swarm the beach almost obscure Duck, the snow turns his bill blue, and the pirates, well he’s not cold anymore! Duck also has a range of emotions that he can display thanks to his expressive eyebrows that are sure to be in some sort of grimace.

Funny and a great choice to share with a preschool group. Appropriate for ages 3-5.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I have never enjoyed this type of 'don't turn the page book' (except for The Monster at the End of this Book).

Note: I used togive full reviews for all of the books that I rated on GR. However, GR's new giveaway policies (Good Reads 2017 November Giveaways Policies Changes) have caused me to change my reviewing decisions. These new GR policies seem to harm smaller publishing efforts in favour of providing advantage to the larger companies (GR Authors' Feedback), the big five publishers (Big Five Publishers). So, because of these policies from now on I will be supporting smaller publishing effort by only giving full reviews to books published by: companies outside the big five companies, indie publishers, and self-published authors. This book was published by one of the big five companies so will not receive a more detailed review by me.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book proves just how important readers are to the books they are reading. When Duck finally settles down for a restful vacation, his solitude is interrupted by the intrusion of a nosy reader who keeps turning the book's pages. Folks start playing games right next to him, the beach gets crowded, and even the seasons change. Things take a turn for the worse--as if they can get any worse, and yes, they can!--when pirates arrive, and the poor duck finds himself in quite a predicament. The colored pencils and graphite pencil illustrations make this book lots of fun for young readers who will love the fact that they seemingly are part of the plot. The colored pencils and graphite pencil illustrations are filled with luminous colors, and readers will be able to tell how Duck is feeling from his facial expressions and body language. This might be a great book for teaching the concepts of print and directionality when reading to beginning readers as parents share it as a read aloud.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Duck is on vacation and is looking forward to a relaxing time. But every time the reader turns the page, something changes in Duck’s vacation and he is getting mad. Wind, other animals, people, (lots of people) bad weather, even pirates who want to cook and eat duck. He’s had it and leaves the book. Who will tell the pirate’s story? Every page turn was a surprise as the thread running through the story was Duck and Beach, so, really anything could happen (and sort of did).

This example of metafiction (not really interaction because the reader doesn’t make any choices other than turning the page) was fun and clever. The duck talks directly to the reader and recognizes that he is part of a book. Not spectacular, though. The motion of the page turn doesn’t make the reader think they caused what happened, only that the next page happens. I don’t know that I’d hear “Oh! Read it again."

Crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

This offering in the now banal metafiction genre is a humorous romp depicting Duck’s attempt to have a leisurely vacation on a tropical island. Duck is relaxing, but with each turn of the page Duck experiences some annoyance: his ice cream goes flying; bird poop; noisy vacationers; stormy weather, etc. Duck beseeches the reader at each page turn to “Stop turning the pages!” Realizing that his pleas are falling on deaf ears, Duck resigns himself to the situation. That is until pirates approach and put him a boiling pot. Duck then bails out of the story and the book, leaving the pirates to discover what Duck discovered at the beginning of the book. The appealing colored pencil illustrations add humor and complement the text well. Though not a must-have title, the story would be a great choice for reading aloud.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book about breaking the frame. Clearly a postmodern book, the duck references the book frequently and talks to the reader throughout the story. That's the main gag. Each double page spread after that is a riff on that joke. The duck is really grumpy on every page, and isn't a very interesting character. There's a lot of Mo Willems' Pigeon here, but without the variety in the character's tone. The plan for each joke in the illustrations is very clever and makes the page turns fun.

The endsheets are filled with authentic passport stamps from many countries--fun to look at all on their own!

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This will be a fun one to do in storytime. The kids love it when the characters tell them to turn or not turn a page. This one is fun to see all the things that happen to duck.

7/13/16 Used in V is for... theme. The kids loved seeing what happened with each page turn, and telling me yes to turn the page when I asked them if I should keep going. The ending seemed to fall a little flat with the duck leaving, but still a good one overall.

7/6/17 Used in U & V theme. Kids loved it. Even the end.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interactive books are winners, like The End, the Pigeon books, and many others. The characters break the fourth wall and talk directly to the reader. I find this engages the young audience and proves a great read-aloud. This story is about a Duck who just wants to enjoy his vacation but we. keep. turning. the. page. and ruining everything.

[Maisys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un album très drôle où le canard s'adresse au lecteur et ne demande qu'une seule chose : ne pas tourner les pages ! Eh oui, ça chamboule tous ses projets de vacances, et le lecteur suit les petites aventures de ce pauvre canard qui ne cherchait qu'à se reposer.
L'interactivité avec le jeune lecteur est vraiment efficace car, malgré les demandes du canard, on veut toujours tourner la page pour voir jusqu'où ça va aller ! ;)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book in which the main character, The Duck, addresses the audience. First Duck asks that the pages not be turned, as he is on vacation and is enjoying the page he is on. As readers keep turning pages, they cause things to happen to poor duck. Great for small groups, or one on one. Adults will laugh as they read this, as well as children.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book. a duck goes on vacation, and we ruin it by turning the pages and making things happen to her. she's relaxing on the beach and a crab comes up, a seagull poops on her, it's interactive and fun. pirates appear, people come and ruin her peace and quiet, it rains, it snows, she leaves after they try to cook her in a pot. funny too.

[Tin Cheung · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Duck. He is just trying to enjoy his vacation, but we want to read his story.

I love books that talk to the reader because it makes it fun and interactive. And this book does not disappoint. Each page something silly happens to duck.

[Maggie KutsBorg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interactive books, when done well, are some of the best and most innovative picture books around (Can You Make a Scary Face? // Press Here // Tap the Magic Tree). But this is an example of how difficult they are to do well. Lazy, average, boring.

[Bari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A laugh out loud funny book appropriate for children ages 3 -5. I am a children's librarian and used this for a story time. The children loved it.

Good choice for the beginning of summer, when many families are planning their vacations.

[Julie (Let's Read Good Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

Poor Duck in on vacation, but someone keeps turning the pages of the book, disrupting his rest and relaxation. Duck's misadventures are complimented by the airy, humorous illustrations. Duck's irritation is clearly evident as his vacation is besieged, one page at a time.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

All duck wants is to have a relaxing vacation. But the reader keeps turning the page! And unrelaxing events slowly unfold. Do. Not. Turn. Any. More. Pages. Until the pirates show up. Then the reader isn't turning the pages fast enough.

[Mikey Golczynski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fowl slice of silliness that kids will really enjoy if someone just points it out to them. It's a more obscure author and kids are flooded with so many picture books, something like this tends to get lost in the shuffle.

[Jenny]

This is a fun book that breaks the fourth wall. It is like Grover in Monster at the End of the Book. "Please don't turn the page!" and so forth. My kids enjoyed it, even if it wasn't completely original.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious book about a duck on vacation at the beach. He notices every time you turn a page and eventually pitches a fit. After pirates invade the beach he leaves the book. It would be a good book to read for a preschool storytime.

[Jannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This got so many laughs with my pre-k/k/1st graders during storytime. :)

A duck is quietly enjoying vacation alone when it suddenly notices something: someone's turning the pages! Oh no. Anything could happen now...will the vacation ever be the same?

[Lisa D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! What a great book! Good for story time ! Great read aloud! Funny book!

[Cory · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute enough, although the thing I most liked was the texture of the paper showing through in the backgrounds (water, bushes, etc.).

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastically funny & engaging picture book that will be perfect as a read-aloud.

[Krista Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this book 3 stars had I read it alone...but reading it with my 4 year old who insisted on arguing with the duck throughout the book definitely increased my enjoyment of it!!

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Playful interactive story young children will enjoy.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hilarious interactive story about a duck who just wants to go on his vacation but you keep turning the page. School age read a loud.