4/5 stars
Give this book to a new parent with a hot meal, some Advil, a silent nod, and look of solidarity that says, “I get it.”
Brian Gordon launched the Fowl Language comic not even three years ago, but it has recently exploded. I’m not a religious follower of his pages, but I’ve seen his stuff everywhere on social media. In fact, I had already seen some of these specific comics online before hearing about the book, Gordon’s first published collection. Even so, I still really enjoyed the hour I spent checking out the funny illustrations included within. It also allowed me to check off the Read Harder Challenge task for a non-superhero comic!
Gordon’s comics find the humor in the exasperation and exhaustion of parenting small children. Why ducks? Who knows. But it works and all parents can surely relate. The book is not for those who are sensitive to swearing (in case you didn’t pick up on that from the punny title). And I probably wouldn’t give this one at a baby shower, unless you want to scare the new parents before they even get started. But once they enter into those early toddler years, I’d say gifting this book is fair game. I’m a sucker for a good webcomic and I plan to keep up with Fowl Language from now on.
Release Date: March 22, 2016 (Andrews McMeel Publishing)
Other books I considered for the non-superhero comic task: Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
*You can find the editable form for the Read Harder Challenge (like the one I used above) at this link. I’ve also found good suggestions for each task on the Goodreads group for the challenge.
Disheveled Shelf 