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Duvoisin, Roger
8 Reviews
(3)
K-3
A family buys a dilapidated old house and can't agree what color to paint it. A lesson in color mixing ensues before they decide to paint the house white, since "white is made of all colors." The story reflects 1950s gender roles (e.g., Father does all the explaining), but the art is lovely, especially the series of spreads imagining the house through the seasons.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano
(3)
K-3
Donkey-donkey is envious of his friend Pat the horse's small ears and feels self-conscious about his own long, sticking-up ears. The other farm animals recommend he change his appearance, further eroding his self-confidence. A sparrow and a little girl succeed in showing Donkey-donkey to love himself for who he is. Cheerful fine-lined illustrations with washes of color add humor to Donkey-donkey's plight.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2016
(2)
K-3
While hunting, Mr. Bobbin can't stop himself from warning the animals. The result is more A Sick Day for Amos McGee than Bambi. The gently worded text is so benign that the illustrations' peaceful soft blues, greens, and tans feel appropriate--guns may be a startling sight in a picture book, but the full package is the opposite of scary.
Reviewer: Shoshana Flax
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
February, 1962;
November, 2016
(3)
K-3
When the "large and happy" Veronica comes to live on Mr. Pumpkin's farm, the animals, having never before seen a hippopotamus, ignore her. Her friendly overtures rebuffed, Veronica loses her appetite and goes into decline. It's refreshing that when the animals figure out their unkindness is what has made her ill, they realize they're at fault and remedy the situation.
Reviewer: Terri Schmitz
(3)
K-3
This cheerful book (originally published in 1933 with black-and-white illustrations) is about a "nice little donkey" who's unhappy with his long ears and tries to change his appearance. Sticking his ears out sideways like a sheep, forward like a pig, and down like a dog all precipitate disasters until he listens to a sparrow who tells him to be himself.
Reviewer: Terri Schmitz
(2)
K-3
Tired of blending in with her herd, hippopotamus Veronica sets out to find a place "where she could be different...or even famous." When she arrives in a city, she is definitely conspicuous and gets herself into all kinds of difficulties. The enraged populace sends her to jail, where only the intervention of a kind old lady sets her free.
Reviewer: Terri Schmitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
October, 1961
(4)
K-3
Goose Petunia works to save her love, Charles, a neighboring goose who is being fattened up for Christmas. Chased away by Charles's rifle-toting owner, Petunia refuses to give up, and eventually love wins out. Duvoisin's animated sketches are more lively than the old-fashioned tale of devotion.
Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth
(2)
K-3
Duvoisin's Petunia, the silly goose, is a memorable character making an overdue comeback in this fiftieth-anniversary edition. The first book in the series introduces the addle-brained goose who finds a book and decides that carrying it around will make her wise. Duvoisin's energetic drawings perfectly capture Petunia's growing arrogance.
Reviewer: Terri Schmitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
January, 1951
8 reviews
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