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Sussman, Michael

Duckworth: The Difficult Child

40 pp. | Atheneum | June, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-5344-0512-7 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-5344-0513-4
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Júlia Sardà. When an enormous orange cobra emerges from Duckworth's wardrobe, his parents, sitting on the settee reading a book called Dealing with Your Difficult Child, don't believe him. Not only that, they chide him for having an overactive and age-inappropriate imagination. Even when the cobra swallows Duckworth whole as he is practicing his recorder, they merely laugh at his "silly costume" and continue to consult the book, which advises them to ignore their child's fantasies and "keep him busy with playmates." Fortunately, before cousin Digby can arrive and suffer the same fate, Duckworth plays a snake-charming tune on his recorder, mesmerizing the cobra, and frees himself. Duckworth lets the snake out the back door; "as he watched it slither away, he wondered where he could find a book for dealing with difficult parents." The adults' self-absorption and cluelessness are as massive as the snake, in both text ("'The books says we're supposed to include Duckworth in mealtime conversations,' said Mother. 'Excellent,' said Father. 'How was your day, Duckworth?' 'Terrible,' said Duckworth. 'I'm stuck inside a snake.' 'Please use your knife and fork, Duckworth,' said Mother. 'You're too old to be eating like an animal'") and art (adult characters look only at one another, never making eye contact with Duckworth). The visual sensibility is a sort of gothic art deco elegance, in a rich palette dominated by the orange of the cobra; and double-page spreads allow plenty of room for the gigantic snake to coil and curl and slither. The significant humor comes from the disconnect between the child's experience and the adults' disregard (shades of the classic The Shrinking of Treehorn, rev. 2/72)--to which most children can surely relate.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

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