Dunkard

by George Selden, Peter Lippman (Illustrator)

Hardcover

First published December 1, 1968

About the author

George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of The Cricket in Times Square, winner of the 1961 Newbery Honor and a timeless children's classic. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Selden received his B.A. from Yale, where he was a member of the Elizabethan Club and contributed to the literary magazine. He spent three summer sessions at Columbia University and, after college, studied for a year in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship.

People often asked Selden how he got the idea for The Cricket in Times Square. "One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes. An author is very thankful for minutes like those, although they happen all too infrequently." The popular Cricket series grew to seven titles, including Tucker's Countryside and The Old Meadow. In 1973, The Cricket in Times Square was made into an animated film. Selden wrote more than fifteen books, as well as two plays. His storytelling blends the marvelous with the commonplace realities of life, and it was essential to him that his animal characters display true emotions and feelings.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...

Reviews

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Selden in the author of The Garden Under the Sea, The Cricket in Times Square and The Genie of Sutton Place - three favorites. He also wrote a few picture books with stories - such as Sparrow Socks and this delightful book The Dunkard, which tells the story of a little boy named George who brings a dunkard to school on grown up day. A dunkard is someone who dunks their food - hamburgers in ketchup, lobster in butter, spaghetti in marinara, donuts in coffee - soon the whole class is dunking. OK, it's silly, but it's silly fun.

[J. Boo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, relatively easy chapter book by George Selden, best known these days for A Cricket in Times Square.

A school has Grown-Up Day, where the children bring in grown-ups to demonstrate their profession: housewives, dentists, firemen, acrobats, and more. George Thompson (Selden's real name, as it happens) wants to find someone with the most unusual profession, so after a long walk, he meets a Dunkard -- someone who dunks coffee into donuts, and so on. More an avocation than a profession, as it happens. Not really spoiler, since you can guess most of it: Thompson brings the Dunkard in, the teacher suspects him of being a drunkard, though I believe this is just a subtle joke for the adults, as the word is never used. The Dunkard demonstrates his profession, all are delighted, Thompson wins. Also, a small amount of poetry about dunking one's food.

My main reaction to the story is "wut", but maybe kids would like it, as other reviewers do so claim. I do not feel the need to track down a copy for the young'uns, however.

Available on archive.org.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new favorite at our house. I read this to my 2 littles with hopes to put the rowdy littlest to sleep. Nope. It was too clever and silly for that to happen. They thrilled, giggled, and clapped as I turned the pages. The delight on their faces made the experience so fun for me. I will have to read duller books when slumber is the goal.