Monday, June 12, 2023

131. Gertie, The Darling Duck of WWII


Gertie, The Darling Duck of WWII. Shari Swanson. Illustrated by Renee Graef. 2023. [March] 40 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: One April morning in 1945, when the world was weary of war, a duck flew to the top of a tall post poking out of the Milwaukee River near a big drawbridge and settled in. People smiled at the plucky duck nesting on a perch so high above the water in the middle of a busy, noisy city.

Premise/plot: Nonfiction. History. World War II. Picture book. Gertie, a duck, becomes famous at the end of the Second World War. She warms hearts and features front and center (perhaps not literally) in newspapers around the globe. Everyone, apparently, wanted updates on this darling duck, and her nest of eggs. The place she's chosen for her nest is precarious, at best. Will all be well?

My thoughts: I'd not heard of Gertie. I'm going to guess that the book's intended audience will be unfamiliar as well. This book was a DELIGHT. I absolutely loved this narrative nonfiction text. I loved the illustrations. I loved the end pages that include "more of the story."

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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