Trevor the Daring Duck product reviews

My friend was interested in reading Lynda Finn's Trevor the Daring Duck with Miss Five and Mr Four, but was concerned that the content might be too sad for them. She still remembered the headlines that went viral world-wide, announcing that Trevor the Duck had died after living most of his life alone. However, she said she would read it first to ensure that it would not upset the children, and was delighted to find that this was no mournful tale; in fact, it was exactly the opposite. Trevor might have been the only duck in the country, but the story describes just how loved he was. The people of Niue took him to their hearts as did other creatures like chickens and a veka (banded rail). This story is a celebration of Trevor's life.

The children both loved the book, and were impressed that it was based on a true story. Miss Five loves animals and reading their stories, and Mr Four enjoys learning how a story "really happened" and is not just made up. This story resonated with the children who are at the age where they care passionately about welfare, whether it refers to animals or to people. When Miss Five started school she was touched by the way the children in her class were kind to her and made her feel welcome. Mr Four was very worried about Trevor when he was stuck in the storm, and breathed a sigh of relief when he arrived safely in Niue.

Nikki Slade Robinson's illustrations support the text effectively; Mr Four commented particularly on the different facial expressions and other body language displayed by Trevor according to his mood. When he is happy, he lifts his beak up and looks as though he is smiling. When he is going on his adventure at the start of the story, he lifts his beak up and opens it wide, spreading his wings and almost trembling with excitement as he stands on a wave crest. When he is washed up on shore, however, his beak is flat on the sand and his whole body is stretched out, exhausted. The surrounds are depicted in bold, bright colours, and the other birds and humans are all portrayed as simple sketches.

The children both appreciated the inclusion of the new words in the book. They have a basic knowledge of Te Reo Maori already, and Mr Four has also learned some signing. He found it interesting that the numbers in Niuean were very similar to those he knows in Maori: taha/tahi, ua/rua, tolu/toru, etc). Fakaue became the new alternative for thank you or nga mihi! He could not wait to share his new knowledge with his teachers and friends at kindy - and to talk about his new book!

I remember briefly hearing about a duck that had arrived in a foreign country and was the only one on the island back when my son was young, when I saw this book about Trevor the Daring Duck I had a feeling it must be a story about this particular duck I had heard about. This book is in fact about the same duck, and I remember that he had unfortunately been attacked and subsequently died, I hoped this was not a part of the book as my youngest is quite a sensitive soul.

The cover shows a super happy duck, making some hand gestures, while surfing on a large wave, my youngest was excited by this as he thought the duck was a "daredevil bird.' This story is predominantly based around Trevor's time in Niue but starts off in New Zealand where the curious duck is exploring and then soon gets caught up in a storm and then ends up travelling to the island. We are introduced to Veka, a native bird of Niue and they help to show Trevor the way of Niue, my children and I were quite surprised to see that the way of counting in Niue is actually not that far from Māori, and we are introduced to several phrases in the native language.

I found that the illustrations team well with the part of the story on each page, and the images are vibrant, eye-catching, and full of detail, I particularly liked the way the illustrator drew a huge smile on Trevor's face.!
Even though Trevor was the only duck on Niue, he managed to win the hearts of people and they looked after him, including creating his own puddle, and a hen and family quickly became his friend, so he wasn't lonely.

This is a heartwarming story and is suitable for all ages, after reading this my eldest decided to find out some more by researching. I thoroughly enjoyed this as much as my children, and I am looking forward to reading it to the children at school and seeing their reactions as well.