I am a big fan of the illustrator, Ellie Peterson. Living in the PNW as a transplant from the South, I have just remained confused about exactly what a geoduck is. That is, until tonight, when I read the delightful graphic novel about a sea star reporter sensationalizing the whereabouts of the geoduck as it reports back to the station.

Not only does this graphic novel perfectly explain what a geoduck is, as well as its main predator, but it also can be used as a highly effective lesson on how news gets blown out of proportion by the outlets that produce it.

Thank you to Sasquatch Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

I can appreciate the balance here between entertaining and informing. We learn about this mollusk in a natural, humorous way. It also sneaks in some messaging about making assumptions and misleading news stories.

Have a fun time learning while laughing your sox off! Written in cartoon format, we learn about this Pacific Northwest shellfish while wholeheartedly poking fun at TV newscasters. Loved it and the tidbit from the Seattle Aquarium.
The illustrations by the Ellie Peterson are imaginative, colorful, and delightful and FUN!
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, hospital, or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Sasquatch Books/Little Bigfoot via NetGalley. Thank you!

I requested this one because the title made me chuckle, and like most people my age, I’ve been mildly obsessed with geoducks ever since seeing that episode of Dirty Jobs. This is told in comic style - a sea star is at the beach, trying to score an exclusive interview with The Gooey Duck. Adults will appreciate the nods to how the 24-hour news cycle creates hysteria, and makes stories out of nothing. It’s pretty hilarious to watch the progression as the sea star tries to figure out where the duck went, and if maybe there are underground elephants. This feels like one that will appeal more to older kids than preschoolers, but it’s pretty funny.

Breaking news! The search for the geoduck continues!

Told in a fun graphic novel style, this book introduces kids to one of our planet's stranger creatures, an animal that is neither gooey, nor a duck. The ending is just a little dark, and kind of caught me by surprise. Make sure you read the true facts section. I had no idea these critters could live to be centenarians! (Unless they encounter crabs, of course.)

Thanks to Netgalley and Sasquatch Books for the ARC of this book!

This was a hilarious look at the geoduck! Presented as a news story where the reporter constantly misunderstands the facts surrounding the geoduck, it’s super funny!

This book was odd, but enjoyable. It’s set up as a graphic novel of a news report by a very stupid sea creature. A star is out on the beach, trying to find the geoduck. But doesn’t know what a geoduck does. A crab comes along, and it’s trying to help the sea star, but the sea star takes everything the wrong way. So the crab has to educate the sea star and the news reporter on what a geoduck is, and where to find them. This was a very interesting way to showcase a creature not many know about. And a great way to show how geoduck is pronounced since it reads like Geo overall, this was pretty fun and pretty interesting. I could see kids really having a fun time with us.

A comic strip about Geoduck (goo-eey-duhk) reportage, that is not duck at all. The hilarious reporter was confused on what he should find and where. But the explanation given was clear, and by reading a comic strip, this is a fun way to learn about what a geoduck is.

A funny, comic style introduction to the geoduck, which isn't quite what the other characters are expecting. The humour sort of reminded me of Aaron Blabey's Bad Guys series, especially with the news studio setting but the focus seemed to be on trying to be funny, rather than to inform and I'm not really sure what the aim of the book is. There is very little information about the geoduck. It was nice enough though and I am always interested in non-fiction that is presented in a different way.

I liked this story and we thought that it was funny that they had no idea what a Geoduck was!

The story does have some facts on Geoduck’s and what they are – they are very funny looking and a lot bigger than I realised (and I have seen them on quite a few meme’s that are aimed at adults!)

It was a fun read, easy to follow and we liked the mix ups about the gooey duck!

It is 4 stars from me for this one – highly recommended – a fun story!

Interesting and fun, yet rather inconsequential, this book introduces us to the geoduck clam. The problem is, the word is pronounced "gooey duck", and that is what a hapless TV news crew are on the beach to investigate – a duck with goo. Every cockamamie misunderstanding they get via the local crab gets fed back, proper news-24 style, to the studio, who are amazeballs at the instantly-generated graphic and scrolling alert.

All told we get to laugh at the media response to a non-story, and we do learn about the geoduck, the clam too long by far to even fit in the shell it builds for itself on its century-spanning path through life, but if we don't live in the regions where the things are found (and cooked and eaten… but that's another story) then it's not really that worthwhile. For much of the world then this is truly trivial, but for the right audience I can see this being a niche success. But it would have worked much better wherever it was if we'd been told the actual, correct pronunciation at the beginning, not the end. A generous four stars.