Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore {The Children's Bookshelf}

To Eva Moore, author and Nancy Carpenter, illustrator:

You are both responsible for my early wake-up call the other day -- 4:30 a.m., to be exact.

Let me explain. Your picture book, Lucky Ducklings, so captivated my young Sprout that after we read this  delightful tome at bedtime, he apparently thought about it all night long. Then at 4:30 in the morning, he came and woke me up, saying, "We need to read this again, Mama. Right now, okay?". I was able to forestall him until 5:15, but no longer. And that was only accomplished because he parked himself on the floor next to my bed and paged through the book, examining each of Ms. Carpenter's engaging illustrations in detail and repeating the names of the ducklings in question ("Pippin, Bippin, Tippin, Dippin and last of all - Little Joe").

I blame myself, really. I should have known better than to bring home a book that fairly drips with charm, through both its simple yet stirring text, courtesy of Ms. Moore, and of course those darling pictures. I should have known that a book so reminiscent of other classics (Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey being the obvious, yet unavoidable, parallel), would be bound to seize hold in Sprout's imagination. When we first read through your book -- a tale set in an idyllic little town, of a mama duck and her five babies, who are placed in danger when they fall through a storm drain -- I could have guessed that the story would be the kind that would linger in my boy's mind. And the rescue of the ducklings, by the city firefighters and an enterprising citizen, is the stuff of little boy's dreams. But an early morning request to read it "one more time"? That didn't figure into my plans.

And, I should note that we've read Lucky Ducklings every evening since, and that each time I forget to add it to the book stack I am roundly chided by Sprout for the oversight. I should also note that it's quite clear we need to return this to our library and buy a copy for ourselves post-haste, as this is the sort of book Sprout will remember and want for his own little ones some day.

Not only has your book resulted in my own lack of sleep (and the need for a little extra caffeine that morning), but it's also responsible for some of the sweetest storytimes we've had together in recent memory, as our whole family pores over this enchanting title together.

I hope you are both happy.

Sincerely,
Mary Kinser

P.S. - Of course now I'll have to seek out more work by each one of you, because Sprout is completely won over by both Ms. Moore's text and Ms. Carpenter's lovely drawings. But you better believe I'll plan an earlier bedtime first.

Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore, published by Scholastic Press
All ages
Source: Library
First lines: "The Duck family lived in a pretty pond in a green, green park, in a sunlit little town at the end of a long, long island."
Highly recommended
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