Children's Book Review: The Tale of the Mandarin Duck: A Modern Fable by Bette Midler, photos by Michiko Kakutani, illus. by Joana Avillez. Random House, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-593-17676-4
Bookshop Inspired by the mysterious 2018 appearance of an exquisite Mandarin duck in Manhattanâs Central Park, this story is rooted in reality yet slyly surreal. As the fable opens, New Yorkers, âworld famous for their liveliness... looked each other in the eye, and pretty much liked what they saw.â But a pall descends with the advent of cell phones, as people become mesmerized by the small screens in their hands and lose their connectedness to one another as well as to the world around them. Enter the Mandarin duck, âsomething so rare that he had to be seen with you...
Source: publishersweekly.com