Reviewed by: Also Known as Rowan Pohi, and: French Ducks in Venice Elizabeth Bush Fletcher, Ralph. Also Known as Rowan Pohi. Clarion, 2011. [208p]. ISBN 978-0-547-57208-6 $16.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7–9. Freymann-Weyr, Garret. French Ducks in Venice; illus. by Erin McGuire. Candlewick, 2011. 46p. ISBN 987-0-7636-4173-3 $16.99 R Gr. 3–5. What better place to launch a truly boneheaded scheme than a booth at the IHOP? Bobby Steele and his public-school buddies get their hands on an application to toney Whitestone Academy on the affluent side of town and, inspired by the reflection of the restaurant’s name in the window, conjure up a virtual applicant, [End Page 254] Rowan Pohi, complete with vita and references. Pohi gets accepted, and the guys collectively freak at their unanticipated success and bury the acceptance packet in an empty lot. Bobby, though, meets a luscious female Stoney who shows some interest in him, and he exhumes the papers, attends orientation, wins a scholarship, and begins to settle in to his new, clandestine identity. The tenth-grade bully recognizes him for who he is—just another neighborhood kid—and threatens to shoot down Bobby’s promising academic prospects. There are no surprises here, from the course of Bobby’s romance, to his blue-collar father’s eventual support, to his triumph over the bully. Given that readers already know the story, even its relatively slim page count sometimes seems a bit bloated. This very predictability, however, coupled with plenty of dialogue, makes the title an easy-to-booktalk quick pick for reluctant middle-schoolers coerced into book reports, or anyone with a couple of extra hours and a taste for schoolhouse comedy. Georges and Cécile, the titular ducks, do not, in fact, hail from France, but they still like to think of themselves as French: “No one knows why (not even the ducks themselves), but that’s how it is.” The feathered siblings live in a canal in Venice, California, near their friend Polina Panova, who is neither a duck nor French, but rather a Russian human who the ducks happens to believe is a princess. “Princess” Polina lives a good life as a renowned seamstress and girlfriend to a filmmaker, until said filmmaker takes off and leaves Polina sad and lonely. Both the ducks want to cheer their friend, but while Cécile is quite certain only time will heal Polina’s broken heart, Georges is intent on hastening the process by getting the princess a perfect gift. Freymann-Weyr (author of After the Moment, BCCB 6/09, etc.) brings her characteristic eloquence with matters of the heart to the younger set here, and her silky, concise prose keeps the fanciful concept from becoming cutesy. Format-wise, this is a classic illustrated storybook with the trim size and artistic emphasis of a small picture book. Although the human figures are sometimes a bit stiff and Polina herself bears a striking resemblance to a Disney princess, the muted palette and gentle compositions of the digital illustrations offer a nice complement to the dreamy, romantic text. Youngsters may not fully understand the nature of Polina’s heartbreak, but they will certainly be able to relate to one of the three key players here, be it duck or human; Georges, in particular, is endearing both in the illustrations and the story, as his quizzical expression in the face of Polina’s grief conveys his utter bewilderment at his inability to fix her. This is a warm, touching tale that will have young princesses (and perhaps a few princes) looking for some feathered friends to call their own. Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois