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Dexter's Journey
Full-color illustrations on every page provide a recognizable format for children.
Dexter's Journey is about a toy duck that gets lost at sea. All of the other ducks are found and distributed by seagulls, rock climbers, fishermen, an explorer, and a hunter, leaving Dexter all alone until he, too, is found.
Dexter's Journey is about a toy duck that gets lost at sea. All of the other ducks are found and distributed by seagulls, rock climbers, fishermen, an explorer, and a hunter, leaving Dexter all alone until he, too, is found.
- GenresChildrens
48 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1997
About the author
Chris d'Lacey
87 books1,121 followersHe was born in Valetta, Malta, but as a child moved first to Leicester and then to Bolton. After gaining a degree in biology from the University of York, he returned to Leicester and got a job at the University of Leicester in their Pre-Clinical Sciences department.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 12, 2016
Wow, what an amazing little book. This is the 23rd book by Chris d'Lacey that I have read in just over a year. It is also about the 10th I have read with my children. When the package arrived in the mail, my son asked what it was. When I said a book by Chris d'Lacey he was excited, when we opened it he flipped yelling "another blue banana's book, a blue banana's book!" He was pretty pumped. That night we had interviews at school and while visiting the library he mentioned it and the librarian said her old school had all the banana books. So now we are on a quest to not only track down Chris d'Lacey's older out of print books but also the others in the red, yellow or blue banana collections.
It was interesting when prepping the review for this book I have found five separate editions of this book from three different publishers. And currently only the Library binding is listed as till in print.
This book is based upon a true story, the story of a shipment of rubber ducks that was lost at sea. And then the duck's started showing up all around the world. In this book d'Lacey follows one of the raft of ducks. And as the group is slowly split up the further and further they go. Following Dexter as some are captured by birds and flown to cliffs, other are caught in fishing nets, some captured by Inuit while ice fishing. Until Dexter is floating all alone in the middle of the ocean. You will not believe how Dexter finally finds a home. But to do so you will need to track down the book and read it.
This book is illustrated by David Roberts, the illustrations are similar to some of the other Blue Banana's books we have read but have a unique flair. My son loved going over these illustrations. We read the book twice back to back after opening the envelope and have since read it a few more times. Always pausing to go over the pictures.
We loved this book so much we have already ordered another copy to donate to our school library. This is an awesome book by an incredible author and part of an excellent series of books for young readers. They are well worth tracking down but it would be great to see them back in print as either physical or ebooks! Thank you Chris d'Lacey for another book my children and I love reading together!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey. As well as an author profile and interview with Chris.
It was interesting when prepping the review for this book I have found five separate editions of this book from three different publishers. And currently only the Library binding is listed as till in print.
This book is based upon a true story, the story of a shipment of rubber ducks that was lost at sea. And then the duck's started showing up all around the world. In this book d'Lacey follows one of the raft of ducks. And as the group is slowly split up the further and further they go. Following Dexter as some are captured by birds and flown to cliffs, other are caught in fishing nets, some captured by Inuit while ice fishing. Until Dexter is floating all alone in the middle of the ocean. You will not believe how Dexter finally finds a home. But to do so you will need to track down the book and read it.
This book is illustrated by David Roberts, the illustrations are similar to some of the other Blue Banana's books we have read but have a unique flair. My son loved going over these illustrations. We read the book twice back to back after opening the envelope and have since read it a few more times. Always pausing to go over the pictures.
We loved this book so much we have already ordered another copy to donate to our school library. This is an awesome book by an incredible author and part of an excellent series of books for young readers. They are well worth tracking down but it would be great to see them back in print as either physical or ebooks! Thank you Chris d'Lacey for another book my children and I love reading together!
Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey. As well as an author profile and interview with Chris.
December 3, 2020
An interesting book about the adventure off plastic ducks.
November 21, 2012
This is a very funny book!
June 23, 2023
2023
2022
Gift from Harper's grandmother
2022
Gift from Harper's grandmother
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews