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SEVEN LITTLE DUCKLINGS by Annette LeBlanc Cate Kirkus Star

SEVEN LITTLE DUCKLINGS

by Annette LeBlanc Cate ; illustrated by Annette LeBlanc Cate

Pub Date: Jan. 7th, 2025
ISBN: 9781536235746
Publisher: Candlewick

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)