Official Review: Uncle Hen's Gumboots by Liam Dwyer

[Kristy Khem]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Uncle Hen's Gumboots" by Liam Dwyer.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Uncle Hen’s Gumboots is a children’s storybook that was written by Liam Dwyer and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbs. Children will adore this short tale that describes Uncle Henare’s discovery of a nest of ducklings. The ducklings follow his pair of red and white gumboots everywhere. They even follow him to school. Every day, Uncle Henare makes special food for the ducklings and the children enjoy feeding them. One day, the ducklings mysteriously disappear. Everyone is sad and disappointed. Where could they have gone? Did Jimmy the goat have anything to do with their disappearance? You can solve the mystery together with Uncle Henare and the children.

The best part of this book is that it’s extremely educational in a variety of ways. Firstly, the author incorporates words and phrases from the Maori language, but anyone can understand the story without being fluent in it. There is a pictographic key at the beginning to help readers understand what some of the words mean. Other Maori words in the book can be understood by looking at the illustrations. I think that this is an excellent way to keep New Zealand’s heritage and culture alive. Secondly, facts about nature are depicted in the story. Children can learn about the natural predators of wild ducks, as well as their diet, behavior, and habitat. Some of this knowledge can be applied in real life. For example, anyone can follow Uncle Henare’s recipe for making nutritious duckling food.

The illustrations are perfect for the story. The animated style will appeal to young and old readers. Whenever I encountered a Maori word or phrase that I didn’t know the meaning of, I simply looked at the illustrations. For instance, when the phrase ‘wahine pirihimana’ was mentioned, there was a picture of a policewoman on the same page; this helped me to understand. Additionally, I liked the diversity of the people in the book. Different races are depicted as well as different disabilities. In one illustration, a girl was wearing a hijab. Diverse illustrations of people in storybooks may help children to appreciate differences among their peers. I really liked that this book encouraged this.

There isn’t anything that I disliked about this story. It was well edited. I only found one misspelled word in the entire book. There is also a blank section that needs information about the author. Since this came at the very end, it didn’t disrupt the story. I am happy to rate Uncle Hen’s Gumboots 4 out of 4 stars for its excellent educational aspects and illustrations. This mystery tale will surely keep its young readers highly entertained while learning.

Youngsters who reside in New Zealand are the prime audience for this book since they’ll be able to strongly relate to the story. But, I would also recommend it to any child who likes reading about animals. Children over five years can read this book by themselves, but parents and teachers can read the story to younger ones too.

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Uncle Hen's Gumboots
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[Kavita Shah]

Firstly, I didn't knew what is Maori– which I understood as I read your review. Picture's help with foreign words and this book has it too. And diverse characters are appreciated. Thank you for your review, it was delightful and informative to read.

[Victor Kilyungi]

This reminds me of books I read when I was a kid. I didn't bother with the words too much, only the illustrations held my attention. I'm glad New Zealand youngsters will have this book, if it trully is as epic, to keep them entertained and learning. Thank you for your honest review.

[Dzejn_Crvena]

This is a cute mystery story that teaches kids a little bit of the Maori language.
I appreciate the diverse characters in the story, too.
Surely a great book to learn something new.
Thanks for the review.

[Medhansh Bhardwaj]

Thanks for the in-depth review! The short story is so simple yet mysterious, and the illustrations are awesome. The creativity in this book is simply genius. Amazing book, and equally amazing review.