How Selfish!
by Clare Helen Welsh
illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Date: 2020
Publisher: words & pictures
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley
The hilarious follow-up title to How Rude! which introduced us to the wonderful duo, Dot and Duck. They're back to share even more giggles in this sweet story about sharing, manners, and friendship.
One day Dot and Duck find a stick, only Dot thinks it's a sword and Duck thinks it's a flag. When Dot refuses to share the new toy, she goes to any lengths to make sure Duck doesn't try to take it. How will Duck react to such selfish behavior?
Simple, funny, and ultimately touching, this book will appeal to any child who is learning what it means to share and, more importantly, what it is to be a true friend.
(synopsis from Goodreads)
This seems like it should work, but it fell a little flat for me. While it probably accurately shows young children's behaviour (selfishness, being grabby, only relenting with the threat of tattling), it's a bit grating. The selfishness goes on for a bit too long, and while the duo do eventually learn that it's not much fun to have all the toys when you're stuck playing by yourself, that message seems to come a little late. Dot and Duck have already modelled some pretty nasty behaviour for the first 20 pages of the book; I would've liked to see more emphasis on the resolution, since that's what's really important here.
The pictures are okay, but nothing special. If Duck didn't have that name, I wouldn't necessarily have known that's what he was (he actually reminds me a bit of Woodstock from the Peanuts comic strip, in that his beak looks more like some sort of fleshy nose).
Overall, I don't know if I'd recommend this one. It's okay, but it seems to dwell on the bad behaviour for a little too long.
Thank you to NetGalley and words & pictures for providing a digital ARC.
Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5
Enjoyment: 2/5
Overall: 2.67 out of 5
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