Title: It’s a Perfect Day for a Duck
Author and Illustrator: Paula Abare
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-6641-5507-7
Genre: Illustrated Children’s Book
Pages: 24
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review
I used to say on rainy days, it is a perfect day – if you were a duck! Yet author and artist Paula Abare shows her reading audience there are many perfect days for being a duck. With a rhyme to the word “duck,” she showcases about two dozen examples of how a duck can have a perfect day! Each page is detailed with fauna and scenery of an outdoor setting, where the duck is enjoying an aspect of their perfect day. All totaled, readers are treated to the kind and lulling words of Paula Abare, while allowing their eyes to wander over the nature settings unique to each picture.
For examples, the duck listens to the chickens in the barnyard cluck; the duck watches them fill the big feed truck; the duck plays with a turtle and friends in the cool dark muck; and my favorite, the duck flies over traffic not getting stuck. Put to a gentle rhyme with comical concepts and whimsical drawings, It’s a Perfect Day for a Duck pages with a loving, maternal, nurturing style which will lull all readers into the fanciful world of a duck.
In fact, at the end of the book is a page “About the Author” where we learn how Paula Abare grew up with doing these types of doodles and now, with the addition of three new grandchildren, she created book this with their reading pleasure in mind. Yes, and by doing so, all children and grandchildren everywhere can enjoy the talent and feel the love she interleaved onto every page.
With so many illustrated children’s books using computer-aided drawing software, it’s refreshing to see a fully hand-drawn book of beautiful illustrations. I believe children’s viewing eyes will pick out some of the uniqueness of original artwork – whereas the impact of computer pictures are more color and shape orientated. It is due to this effort both in text and pictures which makes It’s a Perfect Day for a Duck stand out within this highly competitive genre. So not only to Paula’s grandsons – it’s a perfect book for thousands of other children to enjoy as well.
