A plump mother duck sleeps soundly in her nest, with seven little eggs snuggled under her breast. But as she sleeps, there’s a crack, crack, peep! And seven little ducklings rustle out of sleep.
But what’s this? Later, the mother collects her seven ducklings and counts eight! The imposter (a turtle) is welcomed into the family—and so are the other little ducks who join the duckling line. Two more past eight, then two more past 10 add up to a delightful dozen.
Thus begins Seven Little Ducklings, the latest little treat from Annette LeBlanc Cate, and it has all the hallmarks of a satisfying storytime read-aloud. Children can count the ducks (plus turtle) on each page to keep track of how many have joined the family, and will need to pay close attention to the illustrations to catch when newbies join the pack. On the final spread, the mother has a surprise 13 ducklings resting in her nest, in a manner reminiscent of Sandra Boynton’s Hippos Go Berserk, where the number of hippos keeps growing past the expected 10.
The rhyme of this picture book flows well, and the prose includes chances for children to complete rhyming sentences, mimic noises or practice simple counting and addition. The sweet and lovely illustrations lend themselves to the adventurous nature of the story by encouraging children to look for the ducks, look for the imposters and compare and contrast which of the ducks are not like the others.
Seven Little Ducklings is sure to go down as a quacking classic.
