In this graphic novel, the Devious Duck visits a host of characters in the town of Simpleton as they go about their zany adventures. The duck’s primary goal is to make money to buy more and more bread. To do so, he studies how to scam people and sells bogus products to the townsfolk: pond water for a strength elixir, paper running shoes that feel light as air, and seances to bring back favorite past desserts.

At the same time, other characters go about their lives: for example, a cafe owner tries to find a new baker and the inventor creates exploding, “sudden” pizza dough and helium dough that makes you float away. Just when Beaky Barnes, the librarian chicken, catches on to the duck’s scams, he saves the day by saving Beaky’s chick Chickie, who ate helium dough and floated away.

David Ezra Stein is a Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator and author and an Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award winner. This is a highly imaginative story, but is definitely best suited to older children, as some of the humor may require explanation. That said, for the child who loves wacky, madcap craziness, this may prove a good choice.

(Review originally posted on the Los Angeles Book Review and book donated to the Maltby Food Bank.)