Seven Little Ducklings

Starred review from November 1, 2024
Will this mother duck find her seven babies? Cleverly doing double duty as a counting book and a bedtime story, this tale opens on a soothing note. "In the dark, quiet night, / when the pond's all at rest, / a plump mother duck / is asleep on her nest." A double-page spread portrays a contented duck and her eggs at the brushy edge of a large body of water against a serene moonlit sky. The eggs hatch as she slumbers, and all the ducklings but one venture off on their own. Awakening, Mama "looks around frantically" but finds "nothing but shells." The expressive watercolor-and-ink art is integral to an increasingly hilarious plot: As the mother duck frantically gathers her own youngsters, she also unwittingly collects equally winsome avian babies who didn't hatch from her eggs. A turtle ends up in her entourage, and she even pops a "wee / flailing" mouse on her back. Readers will enjoy counting along with Mama--and recognizing at least some of her blunders. By the time the last little one rejoins the group, there are 13 happy babies. The rhyme and the rhythm of the text set a jaunty tone ideal for read-alouds. Infusing her story with wit and whimsy, Cate brings the tale to a wonderfully tender conclusion--a testament to the power of maternal love. Original, laugh-out-loud funny, and awfully sweet--in short, a quackin' good time.(Picture book. 4-7)

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November 1, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 One quiet night, a mother duck sleeps beside her seven eggs, which begin to crack. Soon, the ducklings walk about quietly, exploring their nest and beyond. Mama Duck still sleeps. When she awakens and finds seven empty eggshells, she frantically quacks, calling for her babies. Distressed, she searches for her brood. She finds one nearby and another up a tree. She snatches one from a fox's jaws and three "from the ooze" of murky pond water. She rescues a baby turtle diving into the pond and a little mouse who can't swim. Growing fond of each baby animal she finds, she decides to take care of them all. The rhyming text rolls along in a satisfying way, accompanied by gentle, playful ink-and-watercolor illustrations that effectively portray the family and their surroundings. In addition to searching for Mama Duck's ducklings and adoptees in the pictures, children will enjoy the built-in counting practice that makes this interactive book useful and satisfying. A lovable picture book that's fun to read aloud.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2025
Mother duck sits on her nest full of eggs one night, when things take a turn. The rhyming text says, "One egg hatches... / and then another... / Seven little ducklings are up before Mother!" Soft-hued ink and watercolor art captures the personalities of the mischievous little hatchlings, who decide to spend their first hours exploring unchaperoned. When Mama wakes to a nest of empty shells, panic ensues. She sets off to round up her new brood, launching this lively counting story into action. Every baby she finds has landed in a more amusingly precarious position than the one before it. Readers counting along will recognize early that she has accumulated more than she started with and that one of those babies is clearly a turtle and another likely a swan. While Mama mulls over this conundrum -- they all seem like family to her -- a struggling mouse floats by and she rescues it too, along with a few more ducklings. Mama observes, "They can't all be mine," but "then she looks at their faces / and knows that it's fine." The sunny palette, singsong rhymes, and ragtag collection of funny, wide-eyed creatures keep this family story engaging and surprising all the way to the bedtime end -- as one last headcount reveals. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2025
Mother duck sits on her nest full of eggs one night, when things take a turn. The rhyming text says, "One egg hatches... / and then another... / Seven little ducklings are up before Mother!" Soft-hued ink and watercolor art captures the personalities of the mischievous little hatchlings, who decide to spend their first hours exploring unchaperoned. When Mama wakes to a nest of empty shells, panic ensues. She sets off to round up her new brood, launching this lively counting story into action. Every baby she finds has landed in a more amusingly precarious position than the one before it. Readers counting along will recognize early that she has accumulated more than she started with and that one of those babies is clearly a turtle and another likely a swan. While Mama mulls over this conundrum -- they all seem like family to her -- a struggling mouse floats by and she rescues it too, along with a few more ducklings. Mama observes, "They can't all be mine," but "then she looks at their faces / and knows that it's fine." The sunny palette, singsong rhymes, and ragtag collection of funny, wide-eyed creatures keep this family story engaging and surprising all the way to the bedtime end -- as one last headcount reveals.

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 31, 2025

PreS-Gr 2-A mother duck awakes to find that her seven children have hatched and wandered off into the world. Panicking, she begins rescuing them from various tight spots and ends up with more than seven. Adding to the hilarity, the additional siblings aren't ducklings at all, but other baby animals from the pond, including a turtle, a mouse, and several other types of waterfowl. With so many babies to count, the plot could easily become complicated, but Cate's control of the narrative and pacing is superb. Suspense and humor are perfectly balanced. The artistic rendering of the background and pond setting is quiet and cozy, and contrasts brilliantly with the discombobulated, somewhat disheveled appearance of the ducklings. Young readers will never doubt that mother duck will repeatedly save the day and will take care of everyone. Prepare for noisy audiences as the mother duck purposefully disregards the number seven and adopts a diverse cast of orphans, resulting in a total of 13 children. VERDICT A joyous celebration of diversity and nurturing, this is a book to enliven story hours and one that children will want to share with friends and family.-Benjamin Ludwig

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