****Little Quack

by Lauren Thompson

pictures by Derek Anderson

Reviewed June 30, 2003.
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2003.  32 pages.
Available at Sembach Library  (E THO).

This book is absolutely perfect for Story Time for the preschool crowd.  The story has nothing surprising--five little ducks are trying to get up the courage to jump into the water behind their mother--but the pictures are adorable!  A couple of the round little ducklings have spiked hair, the colors are bright, and I love the way Little Quack dips his toe into the water to test it out.

The story has a nice repetitive scenario as one by one the ducklings find the courage to swim behind their mother.  “‘You can do it,’ Mama said.  ‘I know you can.’”  The “Quack-u-lator” at the bottom of the page helps us count each of the five ducklings in the water.  The story is made for reading aloud, with the names that roll off the tongue, “Widdle, Waddle, Piddle, Puddle, and Little Quack.”  When Little Quack finally jumps into the water, he does so with a “Splish!  Splash!  Sploosh!  Splosh!”

All in all, this is a fabulous book for kids young enough not to mind something incredibly cute.

Copyright © 2003 Sondra Eklund.  All rights reserved.

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