ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Susan the duck is not having the best day. Her roller skates have arrived, and they're far too big. Her moping is interrupted by a knock on the door, where a chipper wolf announces that she's won an enormous cooking pot. It might be a bit big for her little kitchen, but Susan accepts and cheerfully goes on with her day. Later, she's again dismayed when her kitchen light goes out, but that wolf is back with another prize: an armful of onions. Back and forth Susan's luck goes, her bad occurrences always balanced out with more prizes from the wolf until a scary reveal sees all of Susan's unlucky incidents align to come through and save the day. It's a clever setup to a payoff that will have young readers giggling. The charming illustrations, rendered mainly in comforting reds, greens, and oranges, are packed with diverting details and hilariously capture the physical humor when everything comes to a head. An entertaining exercise in seeing setbacks from a different perspective.

Horn Book (Tue Dec 03 00:00:00 CST 2024)

Susan the duck orders a pair of roller skates that turn out to be two sizes too big and bemoans her bad luck. That's when a wolf shows up at the door: "You have won this fabulous pot! Perfect for making soup!" Susan feels lucky, but then a light bulb blows. Soon enough, the doorbell rings again, and there's the wolf with a surprise pile of onions. Susan keeps having small misfortunes and receiving more soup-based prizes, oblivious to the wolf's toothy smile and vaguely creepy jacket and bow tie. The illustrations are in Pizzoli's trademark thick line and limited palette -- here a pleasing mix of salmon, mint, brown, and gold. Strong composition guides readers through the story, while funny details in the background (like a box of "Cheezee Quackers" on the counter and a bug who serves as a behind-the-scenes helper throughout) will pop on inevitable repeat readings. Susan's petty annoyances prove fortuitous when the wolf ultimately tries to shove her into the soup pot but slips on one of her lost marbles, setting off a Rube Goldberg-like series of mishaps that ends with the wolf rolling away on one of the roller skates with his head stuck in a pickle jar and being chased by hornets. This amusing, clever take on familiar tropes will be a favorite in storytimes and homes.

Kirkus Reviews

One duck's luck is another wolf's disaster in this tale of tragedy averted.Right from the start, Susan is convinced that she is by far the unluckiest of ducks, since the roller skates she ordered turned out to be two sizes too big. Just at that moment, however, a well-dressed wolf appears at her door, informing her that she's the winner of a big beautiful soup pot. And so it goes: Each time Susan feels that her luck's run out, the wolf reappears with some new (and edible) soup-related prize. Long before poor Susan does, kids will realize the price of the wolf's gifts. Still, when the finale arrives, it turns out that each "unlucky" thing to happen to Susan helps her to survive another day. Sharp-eyed readers may notice a tiny bug responsible for at least two of Susan's missing items, also aiding in her deliverance from the wolf's hungry maw. The pure clean lines and limited palette lend a distinctly '50s vibe to the proceedings, while the text makes for a charming storytime. Meanwhile, the narrative has shades of Keiko Kasza's My Lucky Day (2003) and Mo Willems' That Is NOT a Good Idea (2013). Few may be surprised by the resolution, but the familiarity is much of the story's charm.It's a lucky thing indeed that this book is as great a joy to read aloud as it is. (Picture book. 3-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Susan the duck, cartooned by Pizzoli in crisp black lines filled with sherbet-hued greens, oranges, and pinks, is experiencing a streak of rotten luck. The roller skates she ordered are too big, an inconveniently situated light bulb burns out, her pickle jar is empty, she can’t find her favorite marble, and hornets are nesting in a tree outside her window. But amid these unfortunate events, all witnessed by a tiny insect in Susan’s home, glimmers of good luck abound when a formally dressed wolf starts dropping by, bearing various elements needed for soup (“You have won this fabulous pot!... And now you have won these wonderful onions!”). Readers will guess at the wolf’s motives long before a reveal that duck soup is on the menu, but an elaborate narrative turn offers high comedy—and bad luck turned good—as Susan’s previous perceived misfortunes become instrumental in driving the wolf away. Offering soup for thought about using luck as a lens to make sense of the world, it’s a briskly told story whose baddie’s comeuppance is reminiscent of Home Alone. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)