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Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > The Ugly Hatchling review
He had short fat brown legs, a long thin beak, hairy brown feathers, and tiny little stubs where his wings should be. The Pukeko parents looked at each other and shook their heads. What an odd-looking chick!
New Zealand's favourite icon features in this retelling of The Ugly Duckling.
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Review by: vivid (Matt)
Dated: 9th of July, 2009
Once more a great addition to any child library. This version of a classic tale doesn't bear as much resemblance to the original as the others in the series but it is none the less a great little tale that goes to prove that just because you don't fit in where you are, doesn't mean you don't belong somewhere. It also brings some justification to the Kiwi urge for a 'Big O.E.' at least once in life. You have to go see the world if you want to find your place in it.
The story is sweet in its own way, and the watercolour artwork is just brilliant. Not as crisp or detailed as others in the series, but I think this tale lends itself to 'softer' imagery well. Crisp art would work as well for such a 'soft' story.
It was a real delight to see how the younger clan members adored this story, especially one little angel who has a birthmark that makes her very self-conscious at times. I think it really struck home with her more than the others.
All in all, an excellent story for kids of any age, and it has been successfully doing the rounds with the other 'corkers' and is only back with me "on temporary loan until the weekend." I have to laugh, because its not actually the adult clanmates making the demands for these books to come back and cycle around. Awesome stuff to see.
Review by: bronnie (Bronwyn)
Dated: 28th of June, 2009
This is a wonderful book. It's a hard cover book that is very durable. The front cover is blue and has got sheep and dog pictures on it, which attracted my daughter to the book.
The story is a New Zealand version of The Ugly Duckling story, which of course is an age-less classic!
The story has been cleverly re-told in a very Kiwi way. It's great to see NZ native birds being incorporated in to children's stories as it helps them broaden their mind with new and exciting creatures. They then get to learn more about the animals like where they live and what they eat.
Again like Wacko Kakapo, the story is told and illustrated in a child friendly way. The illustrations are quirky, and the text is enough without being too over bearing for young minds.
My daughter and i really enjoyed reading this brilliant story. Before this book my daughter had never seen a Pukeko before, and she now finds them very intriguing, especially their colours. This is one story that will be read many times over! Magical, just magical. I look forward to the rest of the series of stories so i can add to my collection.
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