Customer Reviews

The Little Duck (Pictureback(R))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a great way to express the way that this little character explores and learns about the world. Loved the pictures and the way it was written. Loved every minute of it!!

This book manages to teach your child a little about ducks and also has a bit of character development in it. The story is illustrated with photographs of the little duck, named Henry. (awww)Henry is found as an egg and brought home by a boy. You get to see Henry pop out of the egg and see what he eats and what he does with his first swim. Henry follows the boy around the farm and sits in grandpas lap and reads the paper. Hes getting bigger all the time. Henry gets lonely after the boy goes back to school....and I know the suspense is killing you---so you'll just have to get the book for yourself, won't you???

I love the photographs and the creative story. The cutest picture is of the little duck getting dried off by a blow drier! I think this is wonderful quality and very interesting for children.

Kathy in Las Vegas

I love this book! I remembered it from my childhood, and bought it to share with a younger family member, so they could enjoy it too. Who can resist the image of the beautiful, fluffy, baby duck? Gorgeous and beautiful photos throughout the book and a cute story! Shows all the growing stages of the duck! Would reccomend this book for any child!

I was considering getting this book for my toddler but then I read the Amazon preview pages.

My mother is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator and has been for about 25+ years. She received many animals/birds that were displaced because some child or adult took it out of the environment it was supposed to be in, leaving my mother to raise it. She does this work as a volunteer...I wish more people understood that in most cases, it is best to leave things alone that the parent animal will raise the duck/bird/animal and disturbing it is not wise.

I didn't get this book because I just read the free preview and it was clear I do not want to buy this book for my kids. It teaches the wrong lessons about respecting wildlife.

I had this book as a little girland loved it! I am so excited to find it again so I can read it to my son!

This book couples real photographs with a gentle story about Henry, a duck who is raised on a farm near a pond. Unlike other books in this series, the boy who raises Henry remains nameless, and the book is more about life from the animal's perspective, and less about the relationship between the child and the animal.

Many of the pictures are cute, but, as with other books in the series, the educational value is muddied by failing to address issues related to the animal's welfare. In this case, the boy takes home a duck egg (a pretty bad idea), and uses an incubator to hatch Henry out. The boy also makes the mistakes of putting the hatchling into a wading pond before it can swim, and of using a hairdryer to dry the duck off. In the end, the duck wanders off to the pond where his egg was found, and meets up with a female duck. Presumably, Henry will return to a life in the wild. In reality, this readjustment is probably not possible. I'm not hung up on the idea of truth in children's books, but I do think that the authors should focus on positive, responsible pet ownership, particularly if they are joined by realistic photographs, giving the book more of an authentic feel.

Children who are exposed to this book should be taught not to bring home an egg from the wild, and also that raising a wild animal is a responsibility that doesn't end with allowing the animal to wander off into the world.