Gilad Soffer

Relaxing one day at the beach, Duck anticipates enjoying the perfect vacation, only to find that as the reader turns the pages of his book, his situation becomes ever more chaotic and uncomfortable. From rising winds to noisy people, Duck's seaside idyll is slowly destroyed, and although he pleads with the reader to stop, the inevitable turning of the page leads to frustration and even danger for our anatine hero...

Originally published in Israel, Duck's Vacation is the first picture-book that Gilad Soffer both wrote and illustrated, although he won the Israel Museum's Ben Yitzhak Award for children's book illustration for the artwork he contributed to Yonatan Yavin's Oh, Brother. An amusing metafictional tale, Soffer's authorial debut reminds me of such books as Warning: Do Not Open This Book! and Please, Open This Book! by Adam Lehrhaupt and Matthew Forsythe, which also feature characters who address the reader, demanding something from them in terms of their interaction with the book in hand. Children who enjoy stories which break the fourth wall will enjoy this one, finding the artwork every bit as entertaining as the text. For my part, as someone who is always looking for children's books from other parts of the world, I'm glad to see that this was translated into English and made available to American children. Hopefully Mr. Soffer's future efforts will likewise find their way to our shores...… (meer)

This book is quite fun for the reader, although the words are fairly short and the message to the reader could have been more in-depth (to help the reader understand why duck wants to be left alone). The drama builds along with the laughter; it is one that the reader will want to read again and again. Young children will be particularly amused by the post modern writing style. Part of why I only give 4 stars is that aside from engaging students who are harder to entice, I am not coming up with ways to use in the classroom or library.… (meer)