Duckscares…Woo-oo!

Wait…what? Duckscares is a new book series being published by Amulet Books starring everyone’s favorite nephew triplets: Huey, Dewey, and Louie. The book series will be written by Tommy Greenwald and illustrated by Elisa Ferrari. Duckscares is aimed for grades 3-7 and ages 8-12. I am way above that age demographic, but I also fall into the kid at heart category with many other Disney fans.

The first book in this new series is titled Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula. The book will officially be released on May 4th, 2021. This book is also listed as a Disney Spookyzone story which could lead to other Disney characters getting books in this young reader mystery series.

I received an advanced copy of Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula from Amulet Books to review on our blog. I will be going into some of the details of the book, but the review will not be deep on spoilers and major plot lines.

New Designs

Let’s start off by stating the obvious, the cover shows new designs for the Duck trio. This is not a book series continuation of DuckTales (2017), and that is OK. This is their new design of the characters for this book series. We all obviously hope that DuckTales (2017) can live on through more comics or books one day, but there have not been any announcements yet. If you enjoyed the redesign of Huey, Dewey, and Louie for DuckTales (2017), it is also perfectly fine to enjoy the designs of the characters for this book series as well. Huey, Dewey, and Louie’s designs have changed a lot over the history of the characters from Carl Barks Comics->Disney Animated Shorts->DuckTales->Quack Pack->DuckTales 2017. This new chapter book series is a different type of media for the Duck brothers as well as a new audience for the characters. You are allowed to enjoy multiple designs of the characters, and I encourage you to continue your journey in the Disney Duck fandom through reading the comics of the past as well as this new book series and whatever else may come our way for the Duck family in the future.

I am glad that we can get that part out of the way.

Review

I love reading stories about this mystery solving Duck family so it is definitely a book that peeks my interest, and something that I would have wanted to read at any age of my life. I could definitely see myself picking this book out of the Scholastic book fairs at my elementary school when I was younger. Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula is an easy read at 208 pages. Almost every page of the book has an illustration by Elisa Ferarri which gives the reader a great visualization of the scene and text that they just read. I got used to the new designs of the characters after seeing Elisa’s drawings of the triplets throughout the book. Tommy Greenwald does a great job of giving Huey, Dewey, and Louie their own personalities to make each character stand out more.

At the beginning of the book, the boys are living at their Uncle Donald’s house in Duckburg, Calisota. Donald Duck’s design in Elisa’s illustrations matches his classic look. There is even a scene where he drives his nephews to the airport in his classic 313 roadster car. The book is narrated by the daring triplet, Dewey Duck. All of the events of the book are from Dewey’s point of view with his two brothers interjecting whenever they think he is not remembering the story correctly or if he is embellishing on the truth. The boys are students at Hillside School in Duckburg, and they are told by their principal that they have been bestowed the honor of being named International Student Ambassadors for the National Association of Studious and Talented Youth. It is never stated how the triplets were chosen, but that seems like a detail that will be reveled in a future installment of the book series. In this Duckscares series of books, Huey Dewey, and Louie will be traveling the world and their first stop is Berlin, Germany. There is something mysterious about the local toy shop, Dr. Z’s Toys and Sports Emporium. Kids at the school are having nightmares during the day that they can’t escape from. They are trapped in a situation with whatever they fear the most and yet it is only real in their mind. Huey, Dewey, and Louie might solve a mystery. Spoiler alert, they don’t rewrite history. You will have to read the book to find out the rest.

Final Thoughts

I thought Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula was a solid adventure to kickoff this new series of book for young readers. I would have for sure had this book circled on my Scholastic flyer had it been released in my earlier years, and I would have bought it on the first day of my school book fair along with a Lamborghini poster. My kids are definitely going to dive into this book. It is an easy recommend for parents who would like their kids to read more. As an older reader, I also enjoyed solving this mystery with Huey, Dewey, and Louie. More Disney Duck content is always a treasure, and I will take it in any form that I can get it.

The second book in the Duckscares series will be released in September. As of this review, book 2 does not have a title. I can tell you that the triplets will be heading to another European country as part of the International Students Ambassador program.

Where to Buy?

Order: Duckscares: The Nightmare Formula

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