Lucky Duck

by Greg Pizzoli

Overview

From Geisel Award-winning author Greg Pizzoli comes a hilarious picture book about a duck who learns just how lucky she is.

Susan the duck has the worst luck. Her rollerskates are two sizes too big. She's lost her favorite marble. And she's run out of pickles. 
But with each unfortunate discovery, Wolf shows up with a gift she's won. Her luck has turned around . . . hasn't it? Come see just how lucky Susan is, in this slyly funny story about finding luck when you least expect it.

Geisel Award-winning creator Greg Pizzoli delivers another rib-tickling picturebook that will have kids howling with laughter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593649794
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Greg Pizzoli is the creator of the Baloney and Friends graphic novel series, as well as the author and illustrator of the award-winning picture booksThe Watermelon Seed, Good Night Owl, and The Book Hog. He also writes nonfiction for kids, including the New York Times Best Illustrated title Tricky Vic, and he is the illustrator of the Jack series by Mac Barnett. Greg Pizzoli works in a studio he shares with his wife, Kay Healy, who is a printmaker and fiber artist. They live in South Philadelphia with their two daughters, dog, and cats.

Editorial Reviews

11/13/2023

Susan the duck, cartooned by Pizzoli in crisp black lines filled with sherbet-hued greens, oranges, and pinks, is experiencing a streak of rotten luck. The roller skates she ordered are too big, an inconveniently situated light bulb burns out, her pickle jar is empty, she can’t find her favorite marble, and hornets are nesting in a tree outside her window. But amid these unfortunate events, all witnessed by a tiny insect in Susan’s home, glimmers of good luck abound when a formally dressed wolf starts dropping by, bearing various elements needed for soup (“You have won this fabulous pot!... And now you have won these wonderful onions!”). Readers will guess at the wolf’s motives long before a reveal that duck soup is on the menu, but an elaborate narrative turn offers high comedy—and bad luck turned good—as Susan’s previous perceived misfortunes become instrumental in driving the wolf away. Offering soup for thought about using luck as a lens to make sense of the world, it’s a briskly told story whose baddie’s comeuppance is reminiscent of Home Alone. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"It’s a lucky thing indeed that this book is as great a joy to read aloud as it is." —Kirkus Reviews

"A briskly told story whose baddie’s comeuppance is reminiscent of Home Alone." —Publishers Weekly

"This amusing, clever take on familiar tropes will be a favorite in storytimes and homes." —The Horn Book

"The charming illustrations....are packed with diverting details and hilariously capture the physical humor when everything comes to a head. An entertaining exercise in seeing setbacks from a different perspective." —Booklist

“This picture book invites a read-aloud or solo read for a stronger reader….will have kids giggling in relief.” —The Bulletin

From the Publisher

2023-11-04
One duck’s luck is another wolf’s disaster in this tale of tragedy averted.

Right from the start, Susan is convinced that she is by far the unluckiest of ducks, since the roller skates she ordered turned out to be two sizes too big. Just at that moment, however, a well-dressed wolf appears at her door, informing her that she’s the winner of a big beautiful soup pot. And so it goes: Each time Susan feels that her luck’s run out, the wolf reappears with some new (and edible) soup-related prize. Long before poor Susan does, kids will realize the price of the wolf’s gifts. Still, when the finale arrives, it turns out that each “unlucky” thing to happen to Susan helps her to survive another day. Sharp-eyed readers may notice a tiny bug responsible for at least two of Susan’s missing items, also aiding in her deliverance from the wolf’s hungry maw. The pure clean lines and limited palette lend a distinctly ’50s vibe to the proceedings, while the text makes for a charming storytime. Meanwhile, the narrative has shades of Keiko Kasza’s My Lucky Day (2003) and Mo Willems’ That Is NOT a Good Idea (2013). Few may be surprised by the resolution, but the familiarity is much of the story’s charm.

It’s a lucky thing indeed that this book is as great a joy to read aloud as it is. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews