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Reviewed by:
  • Firefighter Duckies! by Frank W. Dormer
  • Melanie Kirkwood
Dormer, Frank W. Firefighter Duckies!; written and illus. by Frank W. Dormer. Atheneum, 2017 [40p]
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-6090-3 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-6091-0 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys         R* 3-6 yrs

"They are helpful. They are kind." Ready and willing, the Firefighter Duckies are the ones to call when you find yourself in a sticky situation. Join our quacky heroes as they valiantly extinguish a fire started by an unhappy cupcake, rescue a weary whale from an angry tree, trim the hairy exteriors of a motley crew of monsters, and so on. While the excitement and peculiarities of their adventures mean there's never a boring moment, there comes a time when even the Firefighter Duckies need some well deserved shut-eye. The repetitive structure of the story's phrasing will have listeners joining in with each iteration of "They are brave! They are strong! They are… ?" Font sizes that grow and shrink with the emotional shifts of the story provide scaffolding as early readers pick up on textual clues for performative oral storytelling, while speech-bubble dialogue of rescued creatures provides additional giggles and smiles. The use of thick black pencil strokes gives the illustrations a youthful and cartoonish feel, while the warm and mildly saturated oranges, yellows, and reds provide a silly energy and sense of urgency as the duckies move from one adventure to the next. Audiences will love the determination of the Firefighter Duckies, laugh at the unlikely emergencies, and learn that even our most beloved heroes need a break every now and then.

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