''Duck for President'' is the title of a
children's book
Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...
written by
Doreen Cronin
Doreen Cronin (born 1966) is an American writer of children's books, including ''Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type'', a very well-received picture book illustrated by Betsy Lewin.
Life
Cronin was born in Queens, New York City, and grew up on Long ...
and
illustrated
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...
by
Betsy Lewin
Betsy Reilly Lewin (born May 12, 1937) is an American illustrator from Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She studied illustration at Pratt Institute. After graduation, she began designing greeting cards. She began writing and illustrating stories for c ...
. Released in 2004 through
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...
, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Best Illustrated Book follows the further adventures of Farmer Brown's animals that were introduced in ''
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type''.
On April 9, 2007, the book was read by
Laura Bush
Laura Lane Welch Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the fir ...
as part of the annual
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Easter egg roll
Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll, is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs.
History
In Christianity, for the celebration of East ...
.
Weston Woods Studios
Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is an American production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children.
It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded ...
released a 15-minute animated version of the book, released as a bilingual DVD in 2004, the same year the book came out.
Plot summary
Duck becomes frustrated with Farmer Brown's rule over the farm, and holds an election to take over the farm. He goes to the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
and
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
's offices, then even visits the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
. He then returns to the farm saying, "running a country is no fun at all."
Reception
Responses to ''Duck For President'' have been generally favorable.
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
gave it a
starred review
A starred review is a book review marked with a star to denote a book of distinction or particularly high quality. A starred review can help to increase media coverage, bookstore placement and sales of a book.
Outlets that published starred review ...
and wrote "Lewin follows Cronin's lead in losing no opportunity to lampoon recognizable political figures." and "the comedy flows freely on more levels than one, and there's sufficient hilarity for all." while the
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
noted "Lewin's characteristic humorous watercolors with bold black outlines fill the pages with color and jokes. Cronin's text is hilarious for kids and adults and includes a little math and quite a bit about the electoral process."
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
found "Though Cronin's latest Duck tale introduces the basic mechanics of the election process, it lacks many of the silly high jinks and clever plot turns that gave its predecessors their charm." but liked the illustrations calling them "a hoot".
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. found it an "Easy, funny intro to politics for your brood."
Awards
*2004 New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book, joint winner
*
2005 Book Sense Children's Illustrated Book of the Year, winner
See also
*
U.S. Elections
References
{{Reflist}
American picture books
Children's fiction books
2004 children's books
Fictional American politicians
Parody books
Children's books about ducks