Click, Clack, Peep!

PreS-K—Banjo, guitar, and percussion are the perfect accompaniment for a barnyard story, as is Maurice England's folksy narration of Doreen Cronin's picture book. England gives voice to each "moo," "baa," and "quack" as the animals anticipate Baby Duck's arrival. The plucking of banjo strings illustrates the newly hatched Baby Duck's playfulness as he laughs and waddles. Soon the rest of the animals are tired, and they try to get Baby Duck settled down to sleep as "Brahms' Lullaby" plays. The repetition of "but Baby Duck would not sleep" after each animal's action (singing a lullaby, lowering shades) will have young viewers reciting along. The animation is simple and consists mostly of moving heads. At times, the animals seem to float in space, which might be off-putting to young viewers. After Duck drives the tractor back and forth to lull Baby Duck to sleep, the sounds of crickets and the occasional crash are heard. Farmer Brown awakens and takes a look around the barnyard, and the sound of an abrupt record scratch is the perfect expression of his shock as he sees the results of Duck's reckless driving.