A Duck Called Brian (Al Murphy, Scholastic)
Brian the duck is unique—unlike all his yellow duck friends, he is bright blue. When Brian wakes up one morning to find he has run out of his favourite cereal, Duck Nuts, he’s devastated. His first thought is to catch up with his best friend Gregory to talk about it, but Gregory is nowhere to be found. As Brian searches for Gregory, he runs into other ducks in a series of increasingly wacky situations. They invite Brian to join them in their activities but he says no each time, even though it looks like they’re having fun. Eventually Brian finds himself in a magical land where he is granted one wish, which turns out to be a lifetime supply of Duck Nuts. When Gregory jumps out from the box, Brian realises his true wish was to have his friend back. This is a simple, nonsensical book, with colourful visuals reminiscent of surreal children’s television cartoons. There is very little to this story or indeed its characters. While the illustrations are bright and comical, most of the book’s points of interest come from the randomness of the scenarios Brian witnesses in his search for Gregory. This book will coax a laugh out of boisterous kids aged three and up but might be one for parents to avoid at nighttime.
Ellen Cregan is a bookseller and writer from Melbourne.
