The Cuckoo Child

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The Cuckoo Child

Audio CD(Unabridged)

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Audio CD(Unabridged)
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Overview

At the zoo, Jack steals an ostrich egg that's about to be fed to a snake, brings it home to his family's farm, and persuades a pair of geese to be its foster parents.

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About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781486247448
Publisher:	Bolinda Audio
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books. Dick wrote mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoyed writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does. Among his well-loved books are Babe: The Gallant Pig, which was made into a major motion picture and was nominated for an Academy Award.

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Editorial Reviews

In the tradition of Pretty Polly and Harry's Mad , this newest of King-Smith's barnyard adventures centers around a highly unusual fowl. During a school field trip to Wildlife Park, bird lover Jack Daw ``steals'' an ostrich egg marked for snake food. At home, the boy slips his prize under an unsuspecting goose and , 41 days later , Oliver is hatched. Although the fledgling's odd appearance leads to some confusion for his surrogate parents, he becomes the pride and joy of his goose mother as well as his owner. There are a few close calls when the fast-growing bird nearly squashes his gosling siblings, but the ostrich redeems himself by killing a sly fox. As usual, King-Smith provides a harmonious blend of poignant and rib-tickling scenes, in which human and animal characterizations are crafted with equal skill and originality. Readers who have relished the antics of such memorable stars as Babe the gallant pig and his grandson, Ace, will fall in love with Oliver, the ugly gosling who wins the affection of almost everyone he meets. Ages 7-11. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A very funny story, but the humor is, as usual with King-Smith, mixed with both joy and sorrow. Jack Daw is nine years old and lives on a farm in Australia. He likes all the animals, but his true love is birds. During a school trip to a wildlife farm, he sees an ostrich, the biggest bird in the world, and fantasizes about having one of his own. In true King-Smith fashion, he actually manages to take an ostrich egg home and put it in his goose's nest. He names the egg Oliver, and that will be the ostrich's name. The geese aren't very bright, and once they accept the fact that Oliver can't swim, they raise the huge chick as one of their own. Life on the farm will never be quite the same, but it will never be boring. This is a good read. The author's other books include Pigs Might Fly and Quentin Corn. Read them all! A School Library Journal Best Book.

Children's Literature - Judy Silverman

This book by King-Smith is the story of Jack who "saves" an ostrich egg from death at the local zoo by taking it home and placing it under his pet goose who does indeed hatch it. Jack is awed but worried. A 9-foot bird on a farm can cause lots of trouble. While Jack faces a moral dilemma [he did steal the egg], there is plenty of humor. The "parent" geese are baffled by their "beautiful" baby who can't swim. Ostriches don't have webbed feet! Readers easily suspend disbelief as the animals converse yet remain true to their natures.

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

Gr 3-5-- A contemporary, lighthearted version of the ``Ugly Duckling'' tale. Not just any eight-year-old boy could manage to hatch an ostrich egg on a family farm, but Jack Daw is no ordinary boy. Since the age of four, he has been fascinated by anything that grows feathers. His interest leads him to steal an ostrich egg while on a class trip to the wildlife park. Secretly, he schemes to hatch it, relying on his already extensive experience raising barnyard fowl. He puts the eight-inch ``cuckoo'' egg under his unsuspecting broody goose. Everyone, especially the goose, is bewildered when the expected gosling turns out to be very large and strange looking. King-Smith is at his humorous best when describing how the animals and humans come to accept and love the odd-looking creature. When the bird is two years old and nine feet tall, Jack understands that he needs other ostriches and returns him to the wildlife park. There the young ostrich sees his own kind for the first time and at last knows who he is. This gentle story will grace the author's long list of well-loved animal fantasies. --Virginia Golodetz, St. Michael's College, Winooski, VT

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