What Do Ducks Dream - Hardcover

Ziefert, Harriet

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039923358X ISBN 13: 9780399233586

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile, 2001

Synopsis

This brightly illustrated picture book tells of the amusing and magical dreams that the animals and humans of Sigmund's farm have after they fall fast asleep.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreS-Gr 2-It's nighttime on Sigmund's farm and all of the animals are sleeping. While cows "-dream of heaps of hay/And fields of boats for floating away," a rooster envisions waking the world with a giant horn, and goats imagine that they can climb trees to graze on fruit. Meanwhile, several nocturnal animals pursue evening activities of a different sort and hunt for food, injecting a vivid, almost breathtaking moment of reality into this parade of whimsical images. In the farmhouse, "The children dream of making noise,/Of big, red berries and birthday toys." As morning draws near, the text explains, "A sweet dream is a wish from you./If you're lucky, it may come true." Done in mixed media and glowing in vibrant hues, the collage artwork provides a lively and luminous interpretation of the delightful text. The use of quilting scraps and patterned materials gives the pictures a folksy flair. Photos of flowers, different grasses, and barn shingles appear unexpectedly and are seamlessly incorporated into the colorful paintings of animals and people. The images perfectly capture the tone of the verses, as smiling ducks wearing party hats glide on tricycles through a perfect blue-green sky and horses gallop across an undulating turquoise sea. An author's note briefly mentions Sigmund Freud and his interpretation of dreams as a form of wish fulfillment. Although Freud may be a bit of a stretch for this age group, children will get that message all on their own from this dream-come-true pairing of text and artwork.

Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library Journal

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Its title notwithstanding, this bland book has little to do with ducks. The web-footed birds figure in only one spread ("Fluffy ducks in their sleepy hours/ Fly their bikes over hills and flowers"), which pictures them riding airborne tricycles and wearing party hats. Other couplets describe the reveries of horses, cows and goats. In an incongruous turn, the volume notes that nocturnal predators are afoot ("The fox thinks stealing chicks is nice;/ the snake likes eggs;/ the owl hunts.../ mice!"). But just as quickly, it returns to placid musings on sleeping children in a farmhouse and ends with the greeting, "Good morning!" Ziefert (previously paired with Saaf for Animal Music) sets the scene on "Sigmund's farm," then alludes to the farmer's identity in an idiosyncratic note about The Interpretation of Dreams: "Freud... cites proverbs that suggest the dreams of animals may be pure wish fulfillment." Saaf provides handsome mixed-media collages of cut photos, straw, wallpaper and paint. He juxtaposes dense patterns and shadowy greens and grays that immobilize rather than free the dream images. Dr. Freud might support the artwork, especially in its vaguely menacing moments, but not trite verse like "A sweet dream is a gift from you./ If you're lucky, it may come true." Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 039923358X
• ISBN 13: 9780399233586
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Saaf Donald