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40 pp.
| Disney-Hyperion
| January, 2020
|
Trade
ISBN 978-1-368-05276-4
$12.99
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2)
PS
"Three eggs hatch.
Crack! Crack! Crack! / Three tiny ducks.
Quack! Quack! Quack!" Following their mother to water, the "three tiny ducks jump right in.
Splish! Splish! Splash! / Swim. Swim... // Sink." "Wait. What?" says the offstage narrator, breaking the fourth wall. "Let's try that again." But the third small duckling again becomes submerged (and ruins the rhyme). The narrator makes several--increasingly ridiculous--suggestions, including a running start, a "push from below" (a.k.a. an assist from a turtle), gigantic water wings, and a jet ski. Just as all hope seems lost, a
float-ing leaf gives the swim-challenged bird the clever idea to build a
boat, which gets the rhyme back on track. That the little duck has constructed a pirate ship out of its eggshell is a twist sure to please young viewers. The primarily greenish-blue and yellow digital illustrations are full of expressive critters (including a friendly worm who appears on most spreads), with minimal backgrounds keeping the focus on the main action. The square trim size and thick glossy pages were clearly designed for little hands. And Harney's read-aloud-ready text is full of pleasing sound effects, simple words and rhymes, and plenty of meta silliness that will have its preschool audience repeating: "
Quack.
Quack.
ARRRRRRRR!"