The most recommended duck books

This book had me with the title alone. Who hasn’t spent a boring school break looking for something – anything – mysterious to investigate? Paul and his two best friends live in a small town in which nothing interesting happens…until hundreds of rubber duckies appear in a nearby yard one morning. Together, Paul (the hilariously observant narrator), Shanks (tiny but tough), and Peephole (whose many fears include the sound of other people’s sneezes) figure out how all those ducks ended up on Mr. Babbage’s lawn. The friendship here is comfortable and worn in, based on fond tolerance of one another’s quirks – as the best friendships usually are. 

This is another classic tale, originally published in 1933. Despite its publication decades ago, the story remains relevant which puts it in the classic category. It was read to me in kindergarten and when choosing what books to read to my preschool classes seventeen years later I fondly remembered Ping. Ten years after that, I was reading Ping to my kids. Its main characters are Ping, a young duck, and a Chinese boy who wants to save Ping from becoming the family's dinner. The plot occurs on the family's fishing boat as the boy is faced with a difficult dilemma that will save the duck's life. I think it's important that kids hear stories about children making difficult decisions who live in other cultures. The universality of such experiences unites children everywhere.  

This book pulled me in right from the start. When duck knows that he needs to tell Santa what he wants or else it’ll be another year of socks and underwear, we get it because we all know that no one wants socks and underwear for Christmas. Duck’s little tune, “Jingle Quack, Jingle Quack” is so cute and fitting. After Duck is mistaken for Santa, the requests pour in, and they are over-the-top funny and reminiscent of any kid’s Christmas list. I find myself reading them over and over again, smiling every time. In the end, I love that I’m left believing Duck was set up to be Santa’s helper after all.  

Quakers thinks he is a duck and discovers he’s really a cat! As a person who often felt pulled between many worlds (like being an introvert sometimes and an extrovert other times) and never really “fit in” I was cheered to see a relatable journey with a sweet, satisfying ending.

This book is part of the Click, Clack series and just humorous as the others. The snow and lights and Duck in a Santa hat on the cover create a festive winter scene, full of Christmas spirit. The text is sparse and easy to read. The story also has a bit of rhyme in it which is always a favorite for me. The rhyme makes the story energetic at just the right time. The repetition of “Ho! Ho! Uh-oh!” and “unstuck duck” are fun to read. The accumulation of animals adds craziness and chaos which further heightens the humor. The ending is perfect with everyone joyfully gathered around the tree. 

How’s this for a challenge? Write a humorous book during World War One that can still make readers laugh 100 years later. That’s exactly what Lardner does here, when he turns his famous character Jack Keefe, the semi-literate, big-talking baseball pitcher into a soldier and sends him boasting and bragging to “Nobody’s Land,” where he hilariously ducks every dangerous situation he’s put in.

Maximus is a cute fellow, who is much larger than the average platypus. Max has a loving family, but he endures a trauma when his bed floats away from home during a rainstorm and he loses track of this family. Max encounters other animals who have some of the same traits. For example, Deedee Duck has a bill like Max and similar feet, but she’s not related. Soon Max meets Ollie the Otter, hoping they were part of the same family. Ollie admits their tails look alike, but still; they are not related. In the end, all of the animals Max meets help reunite him with his grandparents. Max is delighted, but he also realizes his new friends are part of his extended family. I loved that message and found the illustrations to be endearing.

At the start of this book, readers are asked to count one apple. Easy right? 

Next, one elephant. Again, easy. From there, it becomes tricky...and so much fun! 

There are two whales on a spread, but readers are still asked to count to one . One what? One sausage being blown out of a whale's spout. 

On we go, from soup to nuts. Well, there are no nuts, but there's a hot dog, and ducks and worms, a dinosaur, and more.  Throughout, readers are reminded to count to one. That's the rule. 

The one problem is that kids may be giggling too much to remember to stick to the rule.  It's a great concept, energetically told and brightly, humorously illustrated. 

This is one counting book you won't want to miss.

This book is highly recommended by myself and my small son, Adam. Pumpkin Soup captures something essential about making things for a living that is not often discussed in more academic texts: how difficult it can be to collaborate with others. The book tells the story of a squirrel, a cat, and a duck who make pumpkin soup together every night. All goes well until Duck decides he wants to do things his way, and a loud and angry argument ensues! The book does not end with a moral for small children about cooperation, but something altogether more ethnographic and familiar to those who work with others – another argument!  

Leonard, the lion, knows he’s expected to be fierce and loud. But he’s just not feeling it. Rather than live up to everyone else expectations, he befriends a duck and pursues his love of poetry.

Vere presents boys with a gentle role model and celebrates those who choose to stick up for themselves and their friends. In this way, Leonard’s as brave as any other lion.

This story will affirm those who feel like outsiders and encourages kids to be themselves – and follow their own interests. I love the warmth of this book – from the quirky writing style (which reminded me of Winnie-the-Pooh) to Vere’s palette of hot reds and oranges that depict the savannah so well.