Duck!

Written by Meg McKinlay
Illustrated by Nathaniel Eckstrom

Based on the double meaning of the word duck, – noun and interjection – the humor is a little predictable. But it’s the kind of clean humor young kids understand and enjoy. And the illustrations are also the silly kind that make a first grader laugh with the farm animals.

In a barnyard, a duck runs into the scene shouting, “Duck!” Naturally, each animal he encounters corrects him by saying they are not a duck. The horse points out that, while ducks are small and waddly, horses are noble and tall. The cow says ducks have funny webbed feet, and cows have fine cloven hooves. The pig is proud of his fine pig snout, as opposed to the duck’s poky little beak. And the sheep compares her fine woolly coat to the duck’s fluffy little feathers. Of course, none of them understands that the barn is about to collapse.

Whether for independent reading or for reading aloud, this is a fun book. It invites comparison of animal characteristics and well as being just plain funny.

  • Duck3Title: Duck!
  • Author: Meg McKinlay
  • Illustrator: Nathaniel Eckstrom
  • Published: Candlewick Press, 2019
  • Reviewer: Sue Poduska
  • Format: Hardcover, 32 pages
  • Grade Level: K to 4
  • Genre: Humor, Animals
  • ISBN: 978-1-5362-0422-3

 

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