  | Dude! Author: Reynolds, Aaron | |
| Price: $23.08 | ||
Summary:
In this nearly wordless picture book, a platypus and beaver, who are surfer dudes, anticipate a fun day of surfing at the beach, only to be interrupted by a shark. But is the shark friend or foe?
| Illustrator: | Santat, Dan |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (+) (02/15/18)
School Library Journal (04/01/18)
Booklist (+) (03/15/18)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/04/18)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 03/15/2018 *Starred Review* A platypus and a beaver head out for a day of surfing, and despite the warning signs posted on the rocky shore and an unexpected addition to their duo, they have a hilarious and rollicking adventure using just one word, over and over: Dude. The consummately entertaining story line encourages not judging a book by its cover (nor a shark by its fins), and recalls all the summer sweetness of making a new friend at the beach. And then there’s the art. Caldecott medalist Santat makes the book shine with great skill in pacing and perspective, and the characters’ expressions, the action-packed layout, and the dynamic fonts are a win-win-win. It’s incredible how much emotion can be milked from a single well-illustrated word. They range from a thin black-lined “dude?” to a rainbow-colored “DUUUDE!” and the drama, humor, personalities, conflicts, and resolutions come through fantastically. From spot art on white pages to full-bleed spreads to comic-style panels, there’s a lot to see, multitudes of meaning in a single syllable, a plethora of educational applicability, and oh so much fun to be had, dude. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.
School Library Journal - 04/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2–Two friends, a beaver and a platypus, have a big adventure in the sun and the surf. The largely visual story line repeatedly subverts readers expectations with sight gags. For example, the friends are excited to see a pelican in the sky until it poops on platypus' head. With the exception of the word splat for the pelican scene, the entire text of the book is either "dude" or "dudes" with different punctuation throughout. Working in tandem with the expressive illustrations, it is obvious that the single word can mean different things depending on the context. Fear overtakes the friends as they see a shark in the water. When the giant shark tries to approach, they paddle as fast as they can in the opposite direction. But when the shark catches up to them, he is crying and says, "dude…?" Quickly they all end up becoming good friends. VERDICT Score one for visual literacy with this wacky read-aloud adventure sure to make a splash in storytime and small group settings.—Robin Sofge, Prince William Public Library System, VA - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.
