Swim, Duck, Swim!

April 21, 2014
In this jaunty read-aloud, a duckling isn’t keen on the idea of learning to swim. Head offers crisp, full-bleed photographs that show the tiny duck waddling along a dock, while Lurie playfully imagines it refusing to heed its parents’ gentle urging to hop in: “Sorry, but I cannot stay. I won’t swim. You forget./ I told you once. I told you twice. I don’t like to get wet.” Water-shy readers will identify with the duckling’s quandary, but also, perhaps, with the success it finds after diving in with a splash: “I’m in the pond! Look at me!/ Hooray! I’m not afraid.” Ages 3–7.

Starred review from March 15, 2014
Standing in for any reluctant preschooler faced with a new experience, a duckling goes through stages of irritation at parental urging and then nervousness before finally taking a first plunge. Duckling has no trouble with self-expression: "I told you once. I told you twice. / I don't like to get wet." His feelings are reflected with astonishing veracity in Head's (Frisky Brisky Hippety Hop, 2012) sunlit, close-up color photos. Taken in New York City's Central Park, the full-bleed pond-side scenes mostly feature a pair of adult mallards attending to a fuzzy hatchling who really looks angry, stubborn, pensive, apprehensive and, at last, gleeful thanks to an artful eye and clever angles of view. Lurie's rhymed monologue reads with a natural rather than singsong cadence and is set out on each spread in a few lines or partial lines that match the accompanying picture wonderfully well. "I'm in the pond! Look at me! / Hooray! I'm not afraid!" A childhood triumph portrayed just right. Both the archetypal challenge and the creative collaboration go swimmingly. (Picture book. 3-5)

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May 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-A fearful duckling refuses learn to swim. "I told you once. I told you twice. I don't like to get wet." His parents exhibit patience and understanding, and, finally, with his siblings' encouragement, he takes the plunge. The stunning photos of the duck family on each page are delightful, particularly the full-page shots of the determined protagonist. Children will breathe a sigh of relief when he finally does what a duck does and takes pride in his accomplishment: "I can swim!" The colorful spreads, with one sentence per page, make this a winner for group and one-on-one sharing as well as for beginning readers. Sure to delight any animal lover or reluctant child needing the confidence to try something new.-Susan Mcclellan, Coraopolis Memorial Library, PA

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