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A Duck So Small
Duffle Duck is smaller than all the other ducks he knows, and they love to tease him about his size. "A duck so small can do nothing at all!" they quack. Poor Duffle tries everything he can think of to make the other ducks stop their teasing. He attempts to dive like Kingfisher, balance like Heron, and bore holes like Woodpecker but he fails miserably at his efforts to be like other birds. Yet when a crisis arises and a duckling's life is at stake, can Duffle save the day?
Light, airy illustrations mark this timeless story of group acceptance.
A.H. Benjamin is also the author of What If, illustrated by Jane Chapman, and It Could Have Been Worse, illustrated by Tim Warnes. He lives in England with his wife and four children.
Elisabeth Holstein grew up in England, where she attended art school and designed greeting cards. She now lives in Spain, and A Duck So Small is her first picture book.
Light, airy illustrations mark this timeless story of group acceptance.
A.H. Benjamin is also the author of What If, illustrated by Jane Chapman, and It Could Have Been Worse, illustrated by Tim Warnes. He lives in England with his wife and four children.
Elisabeth Holstein grew up in England, where she attended art school and designed greeting cards. She now lives in Spain, and A Duck So Small is her first picture book.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
About the author
A.H. Benjamin
60 books7 followersA H Benjamin has been a children's writer since the mid-eighties. He has been published by Andersen Press, O.U.P, Little Tiger Press, Franklin Watts, Q.E.D and many other big publishing houses. He has written 34 books which have sold worldwide with 22 translations including Chinese, Korean, Turkish, Greek and Arabic. His books are very popular in schools and libraries. He currently ranks 345 in the UK PLR. Also some of his work has been adapted for radio, television and theatre.
He lives in Lincolnshire with his wife, Trisha. They have four grown up children and four young grandchildren who have all been an inspiration to him.
(Sources: Amazon.com author page, Little Tiger Press author page, Hachette Children's Group author page.)
He lives in Lincolnshire with his wife, Trisha. They have four grown up children and four young grandchildren who have all been an inspiration to him.
(Sources: Amazon.com author page, Little Tiger Press author page, Hachette Children's Group author page.)
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
May 8, 2012
This is a touching story which provides children with an important message.
The main character in the story is Duffle, a very small duck who is teased by the other ducks for his size. The story deals with the topic of bullying and also explores how Duffle tries to change himself. Duffle symbolises that people are often unhappy with the way they look or they are unsatisfied with the things they are able to do.
As the story develops, Duffle is searching for his identity. He tries to do many different things, however even though, for example; the Heron can stand in the water on one leg, Duffle cannot. This is an important message for children, as they should learn from a young age that each child is an individual and subsequently that each individual has different skills, abilities, and interests. What underpins this message is that differences should not simply be tolerated, but celebrated!
The climax of the story occurs when a duckling needed rescuing as he was stuck in a tiny hole in the river bank. The ducks who had teased Duffle were too big to help the duckling… but Duffle, being so small, was the perfect size to help! Duffle rescues the duckling and both Duffle and the other ducks learn that being different is wonderful, and that an individual’s ability does not relate to their appearance.
The main character in the story is Duffle, a very small duck who is teased by the other ducks for his size. The story deals with the topic of bullying and also explores how Duffle tries to change himself. Duffle symbolises that people are often unhappy with the way they look or they are unsatisfied with the things they are able to do.
As the story develops, Duffle is searching for his identity. He tries to do many different things, however even though, for example; the Heron can stand in the water on one leg, Duffle cannot. This is an important message for children, as they should learn from a young age that each child is an individual and subsequently that each individual has different skills, abilities, and interests. What underpins this message is that differences should not simply be tolerated, but celebrated!
The climax of the story occurs when a duckling needed rescuing as he was stuck in a tiny hole in the river bank. The ducks who had teased Duffle were too big to help the duckling… but Duffle, being so small, was the perfect size to help! Duffle rescues the duckling and both Duffle and the other ducks learn that being different is wonderful, and that an individual’s ability does not relate to their appearance.
March 31, 2018
I chose this book because I used to read it as a child. This story portrays the important theme that everybody is important and can contribute to the world around them. The statement "a duck so small can do nothing at all" is repeated throughout the book, which adds a wonderful rhyming and repetition element to the book that I enjoyed. Also, the illustrations combined a pencil outlined sketch along with color, which is an interesting style of artwork that I have not seen in a book before. I thought that the illustrations were well done and contributed to the story line very well. This book was just as cute as I remember, and it portrays a great theme.
February 28, 2018
My daughter loved this.
January 17, 2021
This is a good book.
February 6, 2021
DUFFLE cannot do anything. HE is just too small. At the end of the book, he saves the day for all of the ducks, and they appreciate Duffle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 25, 2021
DUFFLE cannot do anything. HE is just too small. At the end of the book, he saves the day for all of the ducks, and they appreciate Duffle.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 25, 2025
Little ones can do big things and it's not nice to bully others for being weaker and smaller than others.
September 3, 2012
This book to me was adorable! The illustrations were simple yet they were vivid in detail and in tied directing to the book without any extra images or pictures. The story begins with the introduction of the duck called Duffle. Other ducks picked on him constantly due to his small size.
They would taunt him with the saying, “A Duck so small can do nothing at all.” This made Duffle think real hard of something he could do to prove the ducks wrong. At the end of the book, a small duck ends up getting stuck in a tiny hole in a riverbank. Since all of the other ducks are too big to squeeze into the hole they are unable to get the baby duck. Along comes Duffle and he is small enough so he squeezes his little beak into the hole and pulls out the baby duck. All the other ducks cheer, clap, and notice that Duffle really saved the day! They exclaim, “A duck so small CAN do something after all!” This is a great story of determination and a way for those who may be a bit different in size or looks to realize that there is nothing wrong with them.
They would taunt him with the saying, “A Duck so small can do nothing at all.” This made Duffle think real hard of something he could do to prove the ducks wrong. At the end of the book, a small duck ends up getting stuck in a tiny hole in a riverbank. Since all of the other ducks are too big to squeeze into the hole they are unable to get the baby duck. Along comes Duffle and he is small enough so he squeezes his little beak into the hole and pulls out the baby duck. All the other ducks cheer, clap, and notice that Duffle really saved the day! They exclaim, “A duck so small CAN do something after all!” This is a great story of determination and a way for those who may be a bit different in size or looks to realize that there is nothing wrong with them.
September 3, 2012
This is a perfect book to read to first grade students. In the story the main character—a duck named Duffie—is much smaller than all his other duck friends. In the book he tries to prove that he is just as big and brave as his friends but he falls flat every time. Just when he gets discouraged he hears the ducks calling in alarm from the other side of the riverbank. When he went over to see what was going on the big ducks told him that one of the little ducks got stuck in a small crack where the rocks meet the riverbank. All of the ducks were trying to get him out, but the opening was too small. Just then, Duffie gave it a try and saved the small duckling. After that day none of the big ducks ever teased Duffie since he had saved the baby duckling.
November 9, 2014
A Duck So Small is a well illustrated book about a duck called Duffle who is trying to find out what he can do. As he is smaller than the rest of the ducks, Duffle tries to copy other small birds but with no success and the other ducks laugh at him. At the end of the story, Duffle uses his small beak to rescue a trapped duckling, and realises that a small duck can be useful after all.
This story is ideal for EYFS/KS1. As a story for the whole class, it shares the idea of not giving up and to perservere. Also, there is an important message, teaching children that everyone is different but we are all useful in different ways, just like Duffle was at the end of the story.
This story is ideal for EYFS/KS1. As a story for the whole class, it shares the idea of not giving up and to perservere. Also, there is an important message, teaching children that everyone is different but we are all useful in different ways, just like Duffle was at the end of the story.
June 27, 2021
A sweet little book for my smallest "duckling". She's just an infant so couldn't share her opinion on this one yet, but I thought it was very cute.
ETA June 2021: I upped this one's rating to 5 stars because F (now 3) likes it so much. Her daddy reads it to her by substituting her name into the story instead of the small duck's name, and he pretends that each of the other bigger characters is someone from our family (him, me, S, L). F loves to tell us all she's not too small ("pall", she says) so she very much relates to this book as the littlest one in our family. She likes us to read it often, but only if we read it with her name in it "the daddy way".
ETA June 2021: I upped this one's rating to 5 stars because F (now 3) likes it so much. Her daddy reads it to her by substituting her name into the story instead of the small duck's name, and he pretends that each of the other bigger characters is someone from our family (him, me, S, L). F loves to tell us all she's not too small ("pall", she says) so she very much relates to this book as the littlest one in our family. She likes us to read it often, but only if we read it with her name in it "the daddy way".
October 9, 2013
This is a great book for early-childhood children. It sends a great message, teaching children that even though somebody may look different, they still have something special about them. This would be a great book to read to students at the beginning of the school year to help them understand that everyone should be treated fairly and equally.
May 7, 2014
A sweet story about a little duck who feels he is too small to make any difference in the world.
But when a duckling gets trapped, Dawdle can come to the rescue because of his small size.
A wonderful story to show that we should delight in our differences and respect them in others.
But when a duckling gets trapped, Dawdle can come to the rescue because of his small size.
A wonderful story to show that we should delight in our differences and respect them in others.
March 20, 2013
A fantastic and amazing book for children
I read it to children, they loved it and so did I!
Great to enhance the imagination and vocabulary of children
I read it to children, they loved it and so did I!
Great to enhance the imagination and vocabulary of children
April 17, 2013
I wish the duck would try something by himself before bragging to the other ducks what he could do. It would save him alot of pain.
Reading this to the orphanage today. We'll see how they like it.
Reading this to the orphanage today. We'll see how they like it.
November 13, 2013
This is a cute book about a small duck who is trying to figure out what he can do. At the end he is able to rescue a baby duckling because of his small size.
August 10, 2016
It's about bullies and how everyone has a value, no matter whether they're different to the rest of their peer group. Great message, just not that enjoyable to read aloud.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews