Just Ducks!

Gr 1–3—In this charming and informative tribute to the ubiquitous duck, a small girl is fascinated by the noisy birds. Every morning, she is serenaded by the ducks "down on the river that flows through the town." She keeps an eye on the mallards as she gets ready for school and eats her breakfast. "The ducks take forever to eat theirs." Crossing the bridge to go to school, she watches them dabbling and upending as they search for food. In the afternoon, she stops to visit them with her mother. The girl explains how the ducks find their mates and build their nests. As she closes her curtains at bedtime, the bridge is quiet, but she knows that when she wakes, she'll be greeted by the quacking of the "ducks—just ducks, down on the river that flows through the town." The first-person narrative is accompanied by brief paragraphs of interesting facts. These asides are printed in a smaller font and are itemized in an index at the end. The mixed-media artwork adds a sweet, old-fashioned character to the story. Created in a palette of greens and browns, the illustrations reflect the peaceful setting of the natural habitat in which these birds live. Like Robert McCloskey's Make Way for Ducklings (Viking, 1941), this gentle picture book celebrates the wonder and awe nature can inspire in everyday life.—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA