DABBLE DUCK

Amiable, nonchalant foolishness about a pet duck in a city apartment. There's the fun, first, of seeing Dabble grow from fluffy yellow duckling to stamping, flapping, quacking neighborhood-character. There's the suggestion that, since she's lonely when Jason goes to school, she might be happier with another duck to keep her company (Jason's idea) or ""on a farm with other ducks to play with"" (his mother's idea). Then, at the park, a scruffy, battered little black dog attaches itself to Dabble and Jason--and, quicker than you'd expect, wins over Jason's parents to keeping the companionable pair of them, at least ""for now."" In a case like this, where seeing is believing, the book's success rests at least equally on Truesdell's cheery, scraggly cartoon drawings.