It's Quacking Time

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Overview

Martin Waddell and Jill Barton team up for a ducky celebration of springtime, family, and miraculous new arrivals.

"Did you come in an egg?" Duckling gasped.
"All ducks do," Grandpa said.

Mommy Duck has laid a pale blue egg among the rushes, and soon it will be quacking time at the lake. Duckling has never seen a duck egg before and finds it very hard to believe that a baby duck could fit inside. But now all the family is gathering—Auntie and Cousin and Grandpa—and the ...

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Overview

Martin Waddell and Jill Barton team up for a ducky celebration of springtime, family, and miraculous new arrivals.

"Did you come in an egg?" Duckling gasped.
"All ducks do," Grandpa said.

Mommy Duck has laid a pale blue egg among the rushes, and soon it will be quacking time at the lake. Duckling has never seen a duck egg before and finds it very hard to believe that a baby duck could fit inside. But now all the family is gathering—Auntie and Cousin and Grandpa—and the excitement is high as they wait for a tap-tap-tap and a CRACK! and, finally, a tiny beak and a head poking out. Little listeners will be more than eager to join in their final chorus: "Quack-quack! Quack-quack-quack!"

A duckling and all his family happily await the hatching of his parents' new egg.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Suitable for an Easter basket or as a gift for a new sibling, this deceptively simple story about the hatching of a duckling is a spring charmer. When his mother lays a new blue egg, Duckling has plenty of questions for his parents and relatives. "Did I come in one of those eggs?" he asks. "You did," says his father. "Your egg was lovely!" Waddell (the Little Bear books) captures just the right tone and gives just enough information to a sibling-in-waiting. When Duckling asks Auntie, "How did I fit in my egg?," she answers matter-of-factly, "You were much smaller then." Duckling protests that he doesn't remember his egg, but his grandfather chimes in, "I don't remember mine either," and assures him that all ducks come from eggs. Duckling's patience is rewarded when the baby cracks his shell and smiles up at him with time-honored, second child adoration. Barton's (the Baby Duck books) engaging watercolors underscore Duckling's initial innocence and gradual acceptance of his new role in the family. You can see the pride in his chubby duckling face as he announces to his Auntie, "Our egg jiggled a bit." Both art and text work together to present the family's cozy nest near the shimmering blue water as a reassuring place to celebrate life's changes with a joyful "Quack-quack-quack-quack!" Ages 4-8. (Mar.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1-When Mommy lays a pale blue egg, Duckling is curious about the baby nestled inside and asks his relatives questions about his own birth. He soon learns that he, too, hatched from an egg, and that all ducks are born the same way, even Grandpa. The family awaits the new arrival with excitement, and when the time comes, they stand around the egg and quack together to encourage it, but nothing happens. It is only after Duckling quacks softly to it by himself that the shell cracks and out pokes "a tiny wee beak, and a tiny wee head, just like Duckling's, but very much smaller." The simple text captures the anticipation and curiosity that many youngsters experience while awaiting the birth of a sibling as well as the joy of welcoming a new baby. While Barton's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations do not have the vibrant colors and irresistible charm of her artwork in Amy Hest's "Baby Duck" books (Candlewick), the pictures do provide a perfect balance for the quiet tone of the story. The pond setting is painted in slightly washed-out hues, and the depictions of the ducks blend realism with an expressive range of emotions. Purchase this title for a bit of variety in your new-sibling sections.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Waddell adds an unusual twist to a familiar tale: "What's that thing?" Duckling asks, seeing the egg beneath his Mommy. Bemused to learn that there's a baby duck inside, Duckling goes to share the news, and finds out that he, his Grandpa, and every other duck came the same way-despite Cousin Small's skepticism. Barton populates a peaceful pond-side setting with white grownups and fuzzy yellow younglings, all clustering around a large, pale blue egg that refuses to hatch-until Duckling's own quiet "quack" results in a much larger CRACK!, "and out of the shell poked a tiny wee beak, and a tiny wee head, just like Duckling's, but very much smaller." The biological details may differ, but the situation and outcome will be perfectly meaningful to ducklings of the unfeathered sort, and the warm, low-key tone will provide a generous measure of comfort. (Picture book. 5-7)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763627386
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 2/28/2005
  • Pages: 32
  • Sales rank: 811,781
  • Age range: 3 - 7 Years
  • Product dimensions: 10.13 (w) x 11.00 (h) x 0.37 (d)

Meet the Author

Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for children, including HI, HARRY! and the Little Bear books, illustrated by Barbara Firth; FARMER DUCK, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury; A KITTEN CALLED MOONLIGHT, illustrated by Christian Birmingham; and THE PIG IN THE POND, illustrated by Jill Barton. In 2004 he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for his lasting contribution to children's literature. Martin Waddell lives in Northern Ireland.

Jill Barton has collaborated with Amy Hest on all the Baby Duck books, including IN THE RAIN WITH BABY DUCK, winner of the BOSTON GLOBE—HORN BOOK Award. She also illustrated the rollicking RATTLETRAP CAR and WHAT BABY WANTS, both by Phyllis Root; LADY LOLLIPOP and CLEVER LOLLIPOP by Dick King-Smith; and THE PIG IN THE POND by Martin Waddell. Jill Barton lives in England.

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