Title: Bing
Author: Sarah Gourd
Publisher: RedersMagnet, LLC
ISBN: 979-8-89091-291-6
Pages: 36
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
If I were to describe this book in one word, the word would be “Happy.” Yes, Bing is a happy book, sure to bring happiness to its readers. The text has a rhyme and bounce, the pictures are appropriate for the story, the colors are joyful, and the moral is perfect – that is, kindness is never forgotten.
“One sunny day,” begins the story about a duck on top of a roof building a nest, carrying twigs and branches, and placing them ever so carefully. Then the next day, the boy who narrates the book from a first-person point-of-view, sees five eggs in the nest. Watching day by day, the baby ducks hatch. One day the weather changes, and the nest, along with the ducklings, blows off the roof to the ground when one of the baby ducks gets injured – with a broken foot. So, the boy separates the injured duck from its siblings, and nurtures it inside his house, until it gets strong enough to rejoin its family in a local pond. Then, one year later, the boy returns to the pond seeing the float of ducks leaving the pond, when one duck pauses, holds up a foot showing the boy the scar, and communicates in a non-verbal way, “Thank you.”
Author Sarah Gourd distills her chosen words to fit in short sentences, each ending in a rhyme which doesn’t sound forced, but just right for the narrative. The book is interlaced with opposing pictures on each page, giving youngsters the ability to follow along with the text, as well as ponder the details of the illustrations.
Bing by Sarah Gourd is an excellent gift for a baby shower, or to give any family with young children. Its message is simple and kind, and I liked that the ducks don’t jump into a personified personality and talk English; they’re just ducks, doing what ducks do best, “Quack, Quack, Quacking.”
