COLIN'S CASTLE

Things aren’t always what they’re quacked up to be.

Colin’s “one happy vampire”—he’s moving into a castle that’s “perfect in every way.” Unbeknownst to him, however, it already has a tenant: a greenish-blue duck who accosts him in the tub. Colin unceremoniously deposits the duck in the moat. After all, “a vampire’s castle should be a duck-free zone.” The determined quacker has other ideas and shows up again when Colin’s watching TV, mowing the lawn, and reading on the toilet. Colin chases the wayward creature away and installs heavy padlocks. Guess who returns? Colin’s bewildered: How does the feathered interloper do it? The frustrated Colin suctions up his nemesis with a vacuum cleaner and tosses the bird out. That night, a quacking chorus interrupts Colin’s sleep: Hundreds of ducklings are assembled outside. Following Colin’s birdseed trail to the moat, they all jump in. Colin can finally resume his slumber…or can he? This droll tale, first published in the U.K., is told in a wry, understated voice—two voices, actually, Colin’s and an unseen narrator’s. Kids will likely guess from the outset that the low-key standoff between the bemused, wide-eyed Colin and his web-footed adversary won’t go his way, which only heightens the humor. The thin-lined illustrations, rendered in a soft, limited palette, complement the witty proceedings. Colin has paper-white skin and cuts a nonthreatening figure.

This very ducky story gets top billing from us.