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Donna McFarland is the author of the Duck and Friends series, The Purple Elephant chapter books and several music textbooks. She teaches music at New Hope Christian College and Northwest Christian University. Her love for children's literature began before she was old enough to read, and as a child she dreamed of writing books for kids. Donna lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, son and two cute little degus.
Reviewed by Rhonda Fischer for Readers' Favorite
“Duck and Friends: The Dinosaur Bones” starts out with a Duck who lives in Pleasant Hill where Duck had cows, chickens, pigs and alpacas. Then one day Duck reads a book about fossils and that is when the pandemonium begins. He gets ideas in his head and stars in his eyes. He grabs for his cell phone and calls his friends Hen and Cat to help him dig for bones. Lo and behold! They find big dinosaur bones and they are too huge to fit in Duck's truck, so he calls the airport hoping for a plane transport of the bones. The airport thought a blimp would be better with much more room.
This book was written with a lot of imagination. With the attempt to put the bones together, a T-Rex skeleton was created. It was like putting a puzzle together and was almost as high as the barn! It scared the other animals and especially the cows, and landed them in trees. This indeed was a fun read. “Duck and Friends: The Dinosaur Bones" has repetitive words with a natural flow designed to help children learn to read out loud. I especially loved that it is for a young reader between first and second grade. The book offers excitement and whimsical flusters, not shown in school books today. Now that ipads will be in first grade desks in Primary School, "Duck and Friends" should be at the top of the list. If you have a child who loves dinosaurs and skeletons and who has an urge to dig and explore, this would be a great adventure. I have not come across a story where such diverse things such as farm animals, a cell phone, a blimp and even a dragon show up. This is very unpredictable. Find out how Ducks Museum transcends and how the chickens turn green and red. However, I believe the illustrations should have been in richer color for children. It would have brought more life to the story. An added glossary at the end would have been appropriate especially for the word Blimp, R-Rex, Alpacas, Gopher, etc. Teachers and librarians will love that addition. So sit back and take a nice visit into Pleasant Hill. I only wish my first grade books were this captivating! The next time I find a cow ornament, I will buy it and hang it on my Christmas tree to be reminded of “Duck and Friends: The Dinosaur Bones.”
