This first book in the Dodsworth series tells how a
world-travelling mole met his unexpected travelling partner - a crazy duck who
does not hesitate to sing and throw pancakes at Dodsworth the first time they
meet. Dodsworth is planning to find adventure in New York City, but when the
duck becomes a stowaway in his luggage, it seems like adventure has found
Dodsworth instead! After the duck ditches Dodsworth, the mole spends the book
inadvertently exploring New York City by riding buses, the subway, and in
taxicabs to well known New York City landmarks in search of the duck. For instance, Dodsworth's trip
through Central Park does a great job of showing the diversity in the park, as he
watches a band play, a family fly a kite, and a magician perform - all right
next to each other! Although the book could certainly be read in one sitting,
it is broken into four chapters. The simple colored pictures take up the top half of a page, while
the bottom half is filled with text. These elements make the
Dodsworth books excellent for transitioning your child to beginner chapter
books.
Tim Egan continually surprises readers (of all ages) with
unexpected humor throughout the story. For instance, when Dodsworth is searching for the duck in New
York, he knows he found the right duck when he sees a woman feeding a group of
ducks and "only one duck was throwing bread back at the lady." Later, after
Dodsworth chastises the duck for making him worry so much when he went missing,
it appears that the duck is ashamed, muttering 'sorry' and lowered his head - but moments later he begins snoring! It is also fun to be able to tell your
little one that all the locations Dodsworth and the duck visit are real and
could be visited by your family one day. The travelling pair see the Brooklyn
Bridge, Yankee Stadium, Wall Street, Washington Square, the Hudson River, the
Statue of Liberty, Park Avenue (where everyone is dressed fancy), the Museum of
Modern Art, Radio City Music Hall, and Coney Island!
My niece Emily and I first read the Dodsworth series when
she was four years old. We didn't read them in order, so she was
excited to learn how Dodsworth had met his quirky duck, whom she had loved from
other books in the series. She also took to singing the duck's silly song for a
few days, "Fluffy pancakes in the air. Pancakes, pancakes everywhere!" Luckily,
Emily did not throw the pancakes like the duck does!
--Audra
