The classic tale of The Ugly Duckling gets a fiery, fantastical twist in the funny, spirited beginner graphic novel The Fire-Breathing Duckling, written and illustrated by Frank Cammuso (The Night Door).
"One night, under a shooting star... a miracle occurred," the text states as a fireball streaks across the sky and flashes into the ground beneath a tree. The next morning, a mother duck is surprised to find a new enormous pink egg among her own. When another bird notes the egg's difference, Mama Duck says, "There is nothing wrong with being different." Eventually she hatches three tiny ducklings and Nort, a pink dragon with fin-like ears and nubbin horns on an oversized noggin. Mama Duck loves all her ducklings without question. A failed swimming lesson, though, sends Nort on a journey of self-discovery with a friendly bird who suggests he might not be a "Quacking Duckling" but instead an "Oinking Duckling" or a "Mooing Duckling." The duo unsuccessfully visits a series of farm animals looking for somewhere Nort can fit in. Then a prowling wolf bursts onto the scene. Nort's identity reveals itself as he defends the other animals: a double-page spread announces in massive, flaming letters, "I'm a Fire-Breathing Duckling!" The wolf flees, and the rescued animals declare Nort a "very brave Fire-Breathing Duckling" indeed.
Cammuso's draconian twist on Hans Christian Andersen highlights the power of knowing oneself. His pencil and digital illustrations favor blue skies and adorable, cartoonish character design inside neat, black-lined panels. This fairy tale retelling should delight young comic readers looking for lighthearted fare. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager, Allen County Public Library