HIT THE BALL, DUCK

Impulsive Duck’s fifth U.S. outing takes him and friends into the fields for a bit of baseball. Goat’s first pitch is almost the last, however, when a tree captures not only the ball that Duck wallops, but the bat and glove that Duck tosses up in an effort to dislodge it. It’s little Frog, relegated to the sidelines, who suggests that Sheep climb up on Goat’s shoulders, Duck atop Sheep and so on. Alborough’s rhyming may be a bit forced—“Hold still,” croaks Frog. “I may be small, / but I can make your team more tall”—but his rounded, soft-looking figures, all of whom stand on two legs, give the episode a child-friendly air, and the theme of cooperation is always worth a fresh presentation. (Picture book. 5-7)