From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2-Three ducklings find themselves lost and alone in a wood. The youngest one is fearful of the distance home and overwhelmed by longing for his mama. His older siblings persuade him to try a game of "One Step" to encourage him to keep walking. Step by step, he continues, after a practice loop, to follow his brothers, who bestow the name "Little One Step" on him. When he gets discouraged, his brothers rally him with a reminder to continue the game. Soon the determined duckling passes his brothers and leads them straight across woods and fields to their relieved mama. Children will delight in-and identify with-the youngest duckling who watches his feet the whole time and chants "One step-one step-." Abundant white space surrounds the line drawings suffus-ed with buttery yellow and peach watercolor tones. The blending of the straightforward text with the simple drawings and color scheme keeps the focus directly on the ducklings and their plight. This satisfying tale about perseverance will find an eager audience at storytimes, on a parent's lap, and with independent readers.
Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha's Public Library, WICopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
PreS-Gr. 2. James complements his nicely simple text with ink-and-wash illustrations that seem to live and breathe and tell a story with tenderness and patience. His hero is the youngest of a group of three sibling ducks on their way to join their mother. When the youngest begins to tire, his sibs teach him a game for concentrating on walking. He succeeds so well at the game that, after a false start, a long trek, and a happy reunion with his mother, the little duck earns the title nickname. In a thoughtful, loving tone that avoids any hint of didacticism, Simon gently delivers a valuable lesson about concentration and determination that is embedded in common experience. His illustrations, if perhaps too similar in coloring, are as gentle as his words. Even very young children will be able to identify with Little One Step's pride in achievement; slighter older children will get a lesson in what being a good sibling actually means.
Tim ArnoldCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
