Guyi Guyi

by Chih-Yuan Chen

Raised from an egg by Mother Duck, Guji Guji is quite content with his life as a duckling, despite the fact that he doesn't look anything like his brothers. Then he meets three nasty creatures who not only convince him that he is, like them, a crocodile, but also try to persuade him to deliver his duck relatives for their dinner.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Family, Adoption, Storytime, Fiction

First published December 31, 1999

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story about a family of ducks and a crocodile was cute. It reminded me a lot of one of my Leo Lionni favorites An Extraordinary Egg.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful story, especially for those looking to address the subject of adoption in a beautiful and unusual way.

A crocodile egg rolls into a nest full of duck eggs, but Mother Duck doesn't notice (she is busy reading--haha, love that!). When her chicks hatch, they are all a little different--one has blue spots, one has stripes, one is golden-colored... and one is, well, a lot bigger and not quite so feathery! But Mother Duck loves them all.

When the young crocodile meets real crocodiles, though, he begins to question his duck-ness for the first time. But, ultimately, he realizes that Mother Duck is his mother at heart and he defends his family against the mean crocodiles.

This would have been a five star book for me except that I wished the crocodiles weren't all portrayed in a negative light. Of course, we can assume that the little crocodile just happened to meet the unsavory ones (and they are called "bad crocodiles" to distinguish them from just regular crocodiles, I suppose) and certainly the little crocodile didn't have a mean bone in his body! I guess I would have felt better if the baby crocodile had met a NICE crocodile, too. Then he would know that there was something to celebrate in his crocodile heritage. (I am thinking here of kids adopted from "different" races and cultures; it should be clear that there is still a lot to celebrate about being of Korean descent, let's say, even if one is raised in an American Caucasian household.) I think perhaps it is implied as the little one begins to identify himself as a "crocoduck" ;-) but I think it could have been a bit stronger in that regard. Still, overall, this is a lovely story told from the heart and the illustrations are charming!

[Suhasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nicely drawn, cute graphic novel about identity and its struggles.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

A crocodile is born to a family of ducks. Later he meets crocodiles who want him to help them eat the ducks.

Since my son is not adopted, we could read it as a fun story. But as an adoption story, it is not a very good one. I would not want an adopted child to take from this that her or his birth family or culture is low-down and mean.

I think if my child were adopted, I would give it one star.

[javiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

amo los libros de familias felices y diferentes

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in Chih-Yuan Chen's native Taiwan, and inspired by the life-story of one of the author/artist's American friends, who was ethnically Korean, but adopted by a non-Korean family, Guji Guji follows the adventures of a young "crocoduck," as he finds his rightful place in the world, and in his adopted community. When a crocodile egg tumbles into a mother duck's nest one day, she is too busy reading to notice. When that egg hatches out into a creature most unlike her other offspring, she accepts the situation with aplomb. Although different, in both appearance and abilities, from his siblings, Guji Guji never questions his place in his adoptive family - until, that is, three grinning adult crocodiles happen upon him and try to convince him that he belongs with them, and that he should lure his duck family into a trap. Suddenly, Guji Guji is confronted with the issue of identity, and with the problem of safe-guarding his anatine family...

Although I found the artwork here adorable, and believe the author's motivations, in telling this story, are admirable - Chen writes, in a statement on the rear dust-jacket flap, that "It is my hope that children from all over the world can learn to accept different people and things, and see the world with broader views and minds" - I find the storyline somewhat problematic. I don't believe that it was intentional at all, and I don't think it necessarily has to be interpreted in this way, but I could see a child reader, particularly if adopted across national, ethnic or racial lines, taking away the message that their identity of origin was somehow dangerous or undesirable: something to be abandoned. On the other hand, I could also see coming away with the message that family is defined more by love, than by "blood," so take that as you will.

The illustrations, as mentioned above, are lovely: immensely appealing, cute without being saccharine, and possessing an overall color scheme (fairly dark, in the image with the three crocodiles, lighter in those involving Guji Guji's family) that varies according to the mood of each scene. This is a book that might be very helpful for adopted children, but given the range of interpretations possible, I recommend that their parents and/or adult care-givers read it over first, to make sure it is suitable for their specific circumstances.

[Hypatia's Dream · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guyi Guyi en un estilo tremendamente tierno con tan preciosas ilustraciones nos narra la historia de un pequeño "cocopato" 🐊

Que nivel para contar una trama que no se tenga que explicar a los pequeños pues el mensaje queda tan claro en ellos y realmente se transmite con eficiencia sin complicaciones. Además de ser muy atractivo en personajes y diálogos que debo felicitar a los traductores son ligeros y concretos.

Ha sido un bello descubrimiento de lectura infantil que enseña muchos valores además de la importancia de cuidar de la familia.

Encuéntralo en redes fácilmente y disfrútalo con tus niños.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once, there was an egg that rolled and rolled until it landed in a ducks nest. However, this egg was not a duck egg. When the eggs hatched, each duck was named after a certain attribute about their feathers. The first duckling was name crayon after his blue spots. The second duckling was named zebra after his green strips. The third duckling was named moonlight after his yellow feathers. The four duckling, a very different duckling was named Guji Guji after his first words. Guji Guji and his siblings learned from mother duckling, and Guji Guji was stronger by learning faster than the others. However, no one body batted an eye that Guji Guji was different from the rest, mother duckling loved them all equally. However, when three crocodiles come prowling out for some food and spot Guji Guji, they let him know that he really is not a duck, but a big bad crocodile. They then give him a proposition. Will Guji Guji save his duckling family or give into his crocodile instincts? To find out what happens in this duckling saga, go on this journey with Guji Guji and his self-identity.

This tale, although not modern fantasy, is definitely science fiction. Yes, it is unlikely for a mother goose to raise a baby crocodile, especially because they are a predator. It shows the evolution of animal instincts and the fact that these crocodiles wanted to eat the ducklings, and even showed their teeth in which are used to chew up fat ducks as they said. However, this could happen in different worlds or possibly our world many one day within our future. This had realistic qualities, aside from the personification of animals in they talked as if they were humans who had human qualities. The setting and illustrations matched with the text as the egg looked different in the beginning, Guji Guji visible looks different than the rest, and the crocodiles look realistic with sharp teeth with different shades of green, blue, or gray. The plot was lighthearted and theme seemed relevant that no matter what, acceptance and love is the key in a wonderful family. Mother duckling, although not stated in the book, mostly likely knew Guji Guji was not her duckling, but still loved and raised him as her own, and that is a very valuable moral statement for children’s literature today. This lighthearted and courageous tale shows that family is everything, whether one is a duck, crocodile, or even a horse for that matter. Guji Guij is a great role model for children out there to do the right thing for their family and friends, no matter what.

[Luke Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guji Guji is a tale about a young crocodile who mistakenly ends up hatching in a duck's nest. Without any indication that he is different Guji Guji is raised as a duck, even learning to waddle. When other crocodiles appear, however, Guji Guji is faced with a dilemma - help the those who look like him or protect the ones he considers his true family.

This book was found using Storytime Online (a digital-text audio books website). The book was read by Robert Guillaume. It is written by Chih-Yuan Chen a Taiwanese author, whose books have been published internationally, and likewise acclaimed.

The book possesses classic children's literature features such as accessibility and balance. Guji Guji's story reminds traditional children's literature readers of the "Ugly Duckling" story with an egg that is out of place hatching and being reared as one "its" own by another species. There are even fable-like morals and themes that go along with the plot, such as outwitting the aggressor, etc. And those elements lend strength the story, making it fairly unique and enjoyable.

However, and in congruence with a few other reviews, elements of the story may not communicate Chen's original context. Adoption themes often play upon the notion of acceptance, and while Guji Guji certainly does, it also communicates the idea of shunning one's original family or ancestry. While it may be a stretch to connect that theme within the framework of children's literature, it's worth noting should that situation present itself when reading to children in a group. In addition, readers may find the story similar to those found in Aesop's fables, with the righteous outwitting the greedy or sinister, and some characters are one dimensional and ancillary which keeps the story grounded.

Age Range: K-3; recommended for early readers
Special considerations: Adoptive families, crocodiles (joking)

[Catherine Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guji Guji is story of a crocodile that was raised with a family of ducks The mother duck accepts and loves Guji Guji just the same as the other ducklings. One day, Guji Guji encounters a group of three mean crocodiles. The crocodiles try to convince him that he is actually like them! They attempt to get Guji Guji to lure his family into a trap so they can eat the ducks. Guji Guji must decide whether he will protect his family, or follow through with the plan of the mean crocodiles.

Guji Guji is considered a fantasy picture book because the fact that the animals are personified and have human thoughts and emotions, even though they still have animal behaviors. The book would be considered an example of low fantasy, because the characters live in the "real" world and their actions are mostly natural. This book can relate to young readers because of the personification of the animals, and the fun illustrations.

[Matthew Ciccarone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guji Guji is the tale of a crocodile who was reared as a duck. There is a great deal of personification as both the ducks and crocodiles in the story speak, the crocodile hatch schemes, Guji Guji pulls a toy behind him, and the mother duck was also seen reading a book. It was an outlandish situation that a crocodile egg should roll into a duck nest, and that a duck would raise a crocodile. The world was not extraordinary, but the characters were. The crocodiles try to get Guji Guji to trick his duck family into diving to their demise. It will take the ducks and Guji Guji’s use of supernatural animal strength and planning to make it out of this situation. The scary crocodiles were featured in very dark images with black and shades of dark grey. The good ducks were featured with white or lighter backgrounds and the ducks themselves were colorful. This paints a picture of the good and bad sides portrayed in the story.

[Kendall Hagerty · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story Guji Guji by Chih-Yuan Chen is about a mother duck who lays three eggs. One day a fourth egg rolls down the hill into her nest and she does not notice. When the eggs hatch, three of them are ducks, but the fourth egg turns out the be a crocodile. This does not change the family though. They continue to learn together and grow up together. One day the little crocodile encounter older crocodiles who tell him they eat ducks. They tell him that they will wait under a bridge for him to bring the ducks, who they will eat. The poor crocodile is not sure what he should do.

The main reason this is a fantasy is because of the personified animals; they talk to each other. Another important reason is because of the outlandish characters. The crocodile becomes the duck's child; she teaches him how to walk and how to dive. This was a very interesting book to read and I really enjoyed it.

[Pablo Coppola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guji Guiji is a lovable story about an unusual setting of a misplaced crocodile that hatches in a group of ducks - Crayon, Moonlight & Zebra. Growing up, Guji Guiji realizes he’s not like his siblings but everyone is treated with love and respect. The plot of the story entails Guiji Guji meeting a group of evil crocodiles eager to feast on the ducks, so they try to convince him to bring them to the bridge. The reader will be hooked to see how Guji Guji faces this dilemma.

This picture book features a low level of fantasy compliments the simplistic approach of illustrating the animals throughout the story. Young readers will enjoy this simple story and learn a lesson from Guji Guji!

[Ji In · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quick synopsis: A crocodile named Guji Guji is "adopted" by a family of ducks. One day, a pack (or what do you call a bunch of crocodiles?) of sinister crocs ridicule Guji, threatening to eat his adoptive-duck-mom, and challenging his family loyalty. (Side note I should insert here: The book is dedicated to the author's friend, a Korean American adoptee.) Uh ...

Moral of the story: Adoptees, be very afraid of your native people -- your biological kin will EAT your adoptive family. Or something like that.

[Aryiel Vopalensky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heartwarming story of Guji Guji is about family and acceptance. Although Guji Guji does not have the same appearance as his family, he fits in perfectly. Guji Guji happens upon 3 crocodiles who mock him for his duck like manners (such as walking). They try to convince him that he is "bad" like them and should give his family up for dinner. Guji Guji outwits the 3 crocodiles with rocks and he goes on living as the perfect croco-duck. The illustrations have muted colors and slightly harsh lines.

[Sierra Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raised as their own, Guji Guji`s mother duckling has raised him from an egg- despite how different he looks. He is extremely content with his life until some friends begin to teach him that he is different. They befriend him, but honestly they just want to eat his tasty siblings! The story line and plot take place in the life of a duck and teach one to always remember to stay happy in your own skin. It is an adorable book with light pictures that draw one's eye to it for a moment, but the words are what mostly make the story.

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guji Guji was a story about a crocodile being raised with Ducks. All his life he thought he was a duck until confronted by crocodiles. Guji Guji was different from the rest of his family members because he was bigger and stronger and also a different species. His mother duck loved her children all the same. In this story, Guji Guji goes to great lengths to protect his family.
This story portrays high fantasy. This is because there is a near death experience in the story and there were noble characters.

[Zachary Crain-Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Guji Guji" is a heartwarming story about unconditional love. Guji Guji is a baby alligator hatched and raised in a duck family. Knowing no different he grows to love his family and serves as mama ducks fourth little "duckling." As the story progresses Guji Guji meets a group of foul alligators seeking a delicious meal of...duck. To spoil their plan he creates an alternative meal that results in the alligators' surprise.

***Highly recommend the online version read at https://www.storylineonline.net/books....***

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This story was inspired by a friend of mine. My friend is American, but of Korean ancestry. He was adopted as a baby by a non-Korean family, and he sometimes felt a bit isolated and alone, growing up in a community where he was noticeably ‘different’ looking. The same thing happens in Taiwan, too. It is my hope that children from all over the world can learn to accept different people and things, and see the world with broader views and minds.”
- author and illustrator Chih-Yuan Chen

This is the story of a crocodile whose egg rolls into a duck nest without the mother noticing. When it hatches along with the ducklings, the mother raises the crocodile as one of her own. One day, some adult crocodiles see him and tell him he should help them eat all the ducks, since he is actually a crocodile and crocodiles eat ducks. The illustrations are cute and it’s a heartwarming story about how family is not determined by DNA.

It could be problematic, however, if you read into the crocodiles’ nefarious intentions as implying that the crocodile’s birth “heritage” is harmful, bad, or otherwise lesser than the adoptive family. I am sure that this was an entirely unintended oversight, and I do not know how likely or unlikely it is for an adopted child to take that meaning away from the book were they to read it/have it read to them.

I get that the author wanted a villain to allow the “alien” one to become the hero, but the aforementioned problem could have been easily avoided by making the antagonists a third species —foxes, for example. My kids thought it was a fun, silly story, but they’re not adopted, so I’ll leave it up to adoptive parents to decide whether they want to share it with their child(ren).

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro es el favorito de mi sobrina, me pide leérselo en varias ocasiones de la semana. Es un cocodrilo criado por una mamá pata.

Sin duda es una historia linda y que aporta un gran valor moral, las ilustraciones no son mis favoritas pero que al igual que otros cuentos infantiles ayudan a imaginar los escenarios.

[Jordan Singleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable.

[Nickolas Florez]

The book first follows a large egg that winds up in a nest of duck eggs, where the mother duck does not notice because she is reading. As the eggs hatch and reveal hatchlings, the large egg hatches to reveal something that does not look like a normal duck; the animal's first words are "Gugi gugi!". The animal is taken in as a duck, but runs into mysterious animals much like himself along the way: crocodiles. The bad crocodiles try to teach them the ways of the devious side and try to persuade Gugi Gugi to give up his duck family to them as a meal.
The story follows the realm of fantasy as defined by personified animals. The animals talk, and do things that are realistically impossible such as when the mother duck is reading, and has glasses on. To the adult crocodiles, Gugi Gugi is living a fantasy world of being a duck, and is not seeing himself for who he truly is. This shows a strange connection to how humans may see other humans. The setting is realistic to the characters involved and the plot has internal consistency and logic throughout the entire story.
The illustrations follow a weird shaping style. The shapes of the ducks are familiar because we know what the animals look like, but at first glance of Gugi Gugi, it is hard to tell what type of animal he may be. The only real shapes that occur in the illustrations are those of the animals, while of the background imagery seems to just paint a picture of where the setting may be. Shadowing of objects such as the animals, and the grass, paints a rather dark mood for when the bad crocodiles appear. Once they do, the illustrator uses a black background to distinctly show the deviousness of the bad crocodiles. There are no real bright colors in the illustrations, which can entail readers to believe that the story is rather grim and dark, but hopefully everything will turn out the way it should for the beloved protagonist.

[Sawyer Dombrowski]

In this book, Guji Guji is a crocodile that's egg rolls into the nest of ducks. He gets raised by ducks until the evil crocodiles try to turn him against his duck family. They tell him to take the ducks to the bridge and practice diving so they can have something to eat. They end up going and bringing huge rocks to drop them on their faces. Even though Guji Guji and the ducks aren't blood family, they are there for each other and protect each other like their own. This is a fantasy book because for one, ducks and crocodiles can't speak. The author is giving them magical characteristics to better enhance the story. It creates a new world that the children can believe in and think how cool it would be if animals could really talk and interact with one another like that. It has cartoon characteristic in the illustrations and really does a good job of capturing the magical tone of the story.

[Jessie Angle]

Guji Guji is a book about family and belonging but not in the most obvious way. The story begins with an egg rolling down the hill that happens to land under a mother duck. That is where the fantasy begins as that would most likely not happen. The egg hatches along with three others that are actual ducklings the mother duck names them crayon, moonlight and zebra. The fourth egg is hatched and she says “Guji Guji”. She treats all of the ducklings plus Guji Guji the same. Even though they act and look different. This type of story would be more of an outlandish situation under the textbooks term. Guji Guji is a crocodile which is supposed to eat ducks instead of being family. I really enjoyed the story because it shows children that not everyone looks a like or acts alike but they can friend and even family.

[Ashley Lopez]

Guiji Guiji is about a crocodile that was raised by a duck and when he ran into his own kind they tried to convince him to bring the ducks along to eat them and Guiji Guji instead thought out a plan to keep the crocodiles away instead.

This story can be seen as offensive to some when reading it as an adoption story because the birth parents are seen as cruel and the adopted son shouldn't return to them. I do believe that there is more meaning behind it, the son was raised with unconditional love so her returned the favor when his family was in danger and it doesn't matter if it was his birth parents because the mother duck was who raised him with love and the crocodiles only made fun of him and tried to use him.

[Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An odd shaped egg rolls down a hill and right into a ducks nest. When the 4 eggs hatch 3 ducks came out and 1 crocodile. The mother duck treats the crocodile (Guji Guji) as one of her own and shows the young croc the ropes of how to be a duck. Guji Guji later encounters older crocodiles that try to influence Guji to betray his duck siblings. Instead tricks the crocodiles and stays true to the ducks. The story really personifies the animals by giving them the ability to talk to one another in a low fantasy world. The text and the illustrations really build off of each other. This was a very interesting book, i would recommend teachers to read this to their students.

[Devony · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most beautiful adoption books I have ever read, Guji Guji is a crocodile who has been raised by ducks. One day while at the river a group of creepy sneaky crocodiles asks Guji Guji to bring his family to the river so they can eat him. They tell him that he will never be like his family and that he will always be a creepy mean crocodile like them. Guji Guji's decision and his family's love proves that family love goes far deeper than blood could ever run!

[Jocelyn Koff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guji-Guji is a story of adoption. A crocodile egg rolled into a duck nest. Guji-Guji doesn't realize that he is adopted until he runs into crocodiles. The crocodiles are mean and just want to eat the ducks. Guji-Guji has to make the choice of turning on his adopted family and going with the crocodiles or to stay with his family of ducks and go against his true family. This is a story of acceptance.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite children's stories EVER! Amazing, funny, clever illustrations, and a beautiful story about being yourself!

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cringe when the ducks drop the boulders into the crocodiles' mouths and break their teeth off.