Duck for President

A duck ruthlessly scales the political ladder. It's like Animal Farm for kids-- I don't think I've ever seen children's book that actually addressed flaws in the democratic system before. Messages like "revolutions often end up with little long-term change" and "populists eventually become as corrupt as everybody else" aren't exactly idealistic but are pretty important life lessons. Political dog whistles even get a shout-out when Duck "gives speeches only other ducks can understand".

I watched this on BookFlix, which the library billed as an 'e-book' but was closer to a cartoon with subtitles than a traditional book format. It was highly animated, far beyond the panning-over-still-images style of Reading Rainbow. I have to wonder the show more extent to which this counts as "reading"; with so much going on onscreen, are kids really looking at the words? show less

In this third humorous picture-book featuring the independent-minded animals on Farmer Brown's farm, Duck decides that he should be in charge, setting up an election that sees him rise to power. Soon deciding that running a farm is no fun, he next sets his sights on the governor's office, only to discover that running the state is also hard work. His solution? Run for President, of course! Needless to say, running a country is even harder work, and soon Duck is once again looking for something new...

I enjoyed Duck for President, which pairs an entertaining tale from author Doreen Cronin with appealing watercolor artwork from illustrator Betsy Lewin. Although it wasn't quite as giggle-inducing as the previous two books in the series, show more Click, Clack Moo: Cows That Type and Giggle, Giggle, Quack, it will still have great appeal to anyone who enjoyed those books, and wants to see what Duck gets up to next. As Farmer Brown has been known to say, you have to keep your eye on that fowl! show less

Such a fun read-aloud. From the creators of Click, Clack, Moo, Duck is tired of chores and ending the day smelly and covered in lawn clippings from mowing the grass. First he wins the election to be in charge of the farm, but that proves too much work as well. So he runs for governor and wins only to again feel overworked. And so he runs for President! You guessed it. He wins again, but being President is maybe hardest of all. Or at least it is if you want to do it right. Wonderfully fun, bold illustrations.

My favourite of the first four books in this series, in Vote for Duck/Duck for President, Cronin not only carries readers with her back to visit the hapless Farmer Brown and the ever crafty Duck, but she takes the opportunity to poke sly fun at the political process and political arena in both general terms and specifically the election of George W. Bush over Al Gore. Lewin's illustrations are as colourful and whimsical as ever, but this book offers more to chew on for the adults who might need to read and reread this book to kids several thousand times, and for teachers looking for an accessible hook for teaching politics, electoral process, media spin and the marketing of information, and political activism. Go, Duck!

I love this book because of its writing style, the plot, and the illustrations. I love how the writing style is very casual and is in a matter of fact manner as the sentences are short, direct, and to the point. For example, one page's sentences are, "The voters have spoken, Duck was officially in charge." These sentences are very to the point with the events that are happening, and are said about such silly things in a serious manner which adds a comedic aspect to the story. The sentences flow nicely and the way it is written makes the story really fun to read. In addition, I like the plot and how it is a continuous circle of predictable events. The same thing repeats itself a number of times, just on a slightly bigger scale each time. show more For example, Duck creates an election to be the farmer, realizes it is hard work, so he wants to be the governor. Then, realizes that being the governor is hard work, so he runs for President. I like this cyclical plot and how children can be engaged in the story as they can guess what office Duck will run for next. Plus, the unrealistic nature of the plot makes the book interesting and fun to read as a Duck can never actually run for office, but it is fun to pretend that it could happen. I also really like the illustrations as they depict the silly things that are happening in the story. For example, on one page, the chickens are holding up signs that say "I'm a duck, not a politician!" This adds an extra dynamic to the story and makes the words come to life on the pages and makes the story even funnier. In addition, some of the pages that contain smaller events or sentences with multiple events that are related on the same page. The illustrations for these pages are neat because the sentences are split up over the page with the picture to match the sentence, which helps to show the journey Duck is on as readers see him meeting with truck drivers in diners, in a police lead parade, and giving a speech to fellow ducks. The message of the story is that the grass is always greener on the other side, but every job is hard and it is best to just do the work instead of looking for a way out. show less

A cute picture book for children! The book starts on a farm with ducks and cows. Duck is unhappy with some things on the farm and decides to campaign for president, and he wins. It is a silly little book for young children, but it shows them how to stand up against something and make a change. Its silly and funny as everyone knows ducks cannot be president. The illustrations are childlike in their simplicity.

While I love Duck, I didn't live this story as much as the previous ones. Once he took over the farm, I couldn't figure out his motivation for continuing to run for higher office.