The duck in the gun by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Robyn Belton (Walker Books, 2009; first
published 1969)
32 pages
with delightful colour illustrations
Subjects: peace,
ducks, animals, picture books (Year 2-6)
Synopsis
For the last post of the year, it seems appropriate to feature a book about peace -
“The General and his men are
about to fire on a town they are at war with. But the Gunner has bad news for
the General – they can’t load the gun as there is a duck nesting inside it!
Determined to not let a single duck stop an army, the General visits the Prime
Minister of the town he is preparing to fight to resolve the situation. Can one
duck put an end to the war?” (Outline from Walker Books)
This book won the
NZLA Russell Clark Award and was also one of ten children’s books selected for
the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. You can see the 1984
Shortland Educational Publications edition online at the International Children’s Digital Library.
Activities
Lots of
good classroom ideas here.
Questions
There are some very
good questions in Walker Books’ list of classroom ideas (shown above), including
these ones:
“What does ‘peace’ mean to you?
Do you have a favourite
place that makes you feel at peace, or a person that makes you feel peaceful?
Draw a place, person (this can be imaginary or real) that makes you feel this
way.”
About the author
One of New Zealand's best-loved writers, Joy Cowley needs little introduction.
About the illustrator
RobynBelton is also well known for her many prize-winning children’s books.
I love
the illustrations in this book. One of my favourites is the picture of the
General relaxing over his newspaper
while his men are painting houses in the town (that's the town they are supposed to be at
war with!)
Other books you might like:
Other anti-war books for children include The story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, The general by Janet Charters, illustrated by Michael Foreman, Bravo! by
Philip Waechter and Moni Port and Thebutter battle book by Dr Seuss.
Things I didn’t know
In the
brief bios at the back, Robyn Belton says she added a dog that wasn’t in Joy’s
text, to act as a “mirror” - “amplifying the gestures and expressions of the
girl”.
Joy says that the book grew out of her “feelings of distress” about the
Vietnam War in the late 1960s, combined with a heart-warming news story about a
duck that made its nest on a building site in Chicago and halted construction
for three weeks.
Have you read it?
Have you
read this book? Let me know what you think!
