“Guji Guji”, by Chih-Yuan Chen, is a delightful Ugly Duckling-esque story about a crocodile egg that gets mixed in with a nest of duck eggs. The mother duck hatches them all, and the crocodile — whose name is Guji Guji, after the first sounds he makes after breaking out of his shell — grows up being raised as just another duck.
Life is good until a trio of nasty grown-up crocodiles arrives and attempt to play on Guji Guji’s feelings of fraternity to help them eat the other ducks in his family. They remind him that he’s not a duck after all, but a croc like themselves, and crocs stick together, so he should help them. After a moment of alone time, Guji Guji decides that, while he’s not quite a crocodile, he’s also not quite a duck, but he’s not going to give up his family. In the end, he devises a plan to get rid of the crocodiles once and for all.
This book has the feel of a classic parable, and its artwork is at once both charming in its rendition of the characters, and at the same time somewhat moody, with its particular color palette. It’s also well-written, able to expose the core messages without feeling at all preachy. It’s made clear that your family isn’t tied to your biology, but to whom actually raises you; and despite how you may look, it’s your actions that matter.
Comments
Karen
May 19th, 2009 - 9:59:25 AM
I picked up this book recently, and I agree -- it's very good. And it's true, it's those who love and care for you that are your family, not those who are just trying to use you.
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