Duck in the Fridge

PreS-Gr 1—Most folks read Mother Goose to their kids because it's full of fun rhymes that encourage literacy development, but not the dad in this story. To answer his son's question about why they always read the collection of rhymes at bedtime, the father tells a fantastical anecdote about his own childhood. Trouble began when he found a rambunctious duck in the fridge. He was soon greeted by more ducks, who overran his entire house, got into his bed, ate all of his crackers, and then ordered pizza. When he called "1-800-DUCK-B-GONE," hoping for something to scare away the fowl creatures, a crate of sheep arrived. Subsequent efforts to get rid of the pests brought more, and bigger animals. They played cards, ordered more pizza, and watched TV, until the boy discovered that they couldn't read and calmed them down with Mother Goose tales, putting the creatures to sleep. A plethora of puns so bad they are funny, speech balloons asides, and the cartoonish hilarity of Mack's bold digital illustrations are sure to elicit many giggles. A wild and incredibly silly romp of a bedtime story that should appeal to fans of David Ezra Stein's Interrupting Chicken (Candlewick, 2010) or Doreen Cronin's classic Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (S. & S., 2000).—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY