A DUCK CALLED BRIAN

In this Australian import, a duck spends a silly, disastrous day searching for his friend.

Brian is a bright blue duck who loves three things: his BFF, Gregory (a yellow duck with a red cap), a cold glass of milk, and his favorite cereal, Duck Nuts. Unfortunately, one day Brian wakes up and finds that he has no milk or cereal left. What a catastrophe! He must go tell Gregory all about it. But Gregory isn’t in any of his usual places. So Brian starts to search. A string of increasingly bizarre encounters ensues. All of the other (yellow) ducks are too busy—counting ants, creating a crocodile-proof diving suit, or participating in a sunbathing festival—to help. Eagle-eyed readers, however, will spot Gregory in the background, always heading off to his next adventure. Murphy’s squat, identical, jelly bean–shaped ducks are especially comical when packed together in a crowd—a sea of yellow, with one blue duck futilely shouting, “GREGORRRYYY!” Murphy also slips many amusing asides into the art. The ending takes a psychedelic turn, which seems a bit out of place, but it also makes perfect ridiculous sense. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Playful, absurd, and marvelous.