Waddles

PreS-Gr 2—A chubby and ever-hungry raccoon is close friends with Emily the duck. They sometimes swim together, and Emily keeps Waddles company as he checks the trash cans for cake or half-eaten sandwiches. Soon, however, she has some eggs to hatch, and must stay at her nest. Waddles offers to keep the eggs warm so that Emily can go for a quick swim. Danger lurks, however, in the form of a fox who tries to steal the eggs, but Waddles scares him off. Soon the chicks hatch, and he has five new friends to enjoy through the summer and fall. But, winter is around the corner, and Emily announces that it is time for them to fly south. It's a long, lonely winter without his friends, but with the dawn of spring, Emily and her babies are back, and life for the raccoon is good again. McPhail uses his familiar medium of ink and pen with watercolor to create this story of friendship, reunion, and the cycles of life. A sweet, straightforward addition to picture-book collections.—Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA