The Little Duck

by Judy Dunn, Phoebe Dunn (Photographer)

Phoebe Dunn’s beloved photographic picture book about the adventures of an adorable little duck!
 
Young readers will follow plucky duck as he hatches from his shell and sets out around the farm to meet a variety of new barnyard friends. Featuring endearing photographic pictures, this charming story will leave children quacking with glee.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Nature, Birds

32 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 1976

About the author

Judy Dunn is the author of many books for young children. Some of her most popular titles are projects she worked on with her mother, acclaimed photographer Phoebe Dunn. Those works include The Little Rabbit, The Little Duck, The Little Puppy, The Little Kitten, and many more.

Reviews

[Kelli Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Little Duck by Judy Dunn photos by Phoebe Dunn is a heartwarming story about a young boy who finds a duck egg and takes it back to his house. He put the egg in an incubator until 28 days later and it hatches into Henry a baby boy duck. The book talks about how Henry can’t swim until he begins to produce oil, the duck however soon gets older and lonely when the boy has to go to school. The duck wanders until it finally finds a pond and meets a lady duck. They swim ff happily and soon produce a duck egg of their own. I thought the book was cute and would be a good book for elementary students. It’s informational and the pictures are actual ducks, which makes the book fascinating to read and look at. I would have this in my classroom I think students would enjoy this animal book.

[Nichole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darling book.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in the book swap bin at our local library. After seeing the photograph of the adorable duck on the cover, I couldn't resist bringing it home.

The narrative is a bit long for younger children, but it is informative and the numerous color photographs that accompany the story are wonderful.

I would not be surprised if a young child reading this book with a parent didn't decide to hatch and raise a baby duck.

But I would caution parents not to take the decision to adopt a duck (or chicken, or rabbit, or bunny, or any other animal for that matter) lightly.

The neverending effort to take care of an animal can long outlive the novelty of having it join the family and the cute baby stage the animal soon outgrows.

Nevertheless, I, too, was charmed by the adorable duck Henry and I love the idea of adopting one. Not enough to actually do it, yet...

I donated this book after I read it.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course I loved this dear book.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

One added star for cuteness of duck pictures and nostalgia. I read this as a kid and it was fine. Not a favorite, but fine. I read it as an adult and have to wonder - what the heck? We begin with an egg abducktion (Sorry, I had to.) from the wild. Our hero then proceeds to attempt to teach his duck to swim by dropping it in a kiddie pool. The authors note that this is a bad idea for a motherless duck since the duckling won't have the oil on its feathers that it would've gotten from her. And why doesn't he have a mother? Gee, maybe because you stole an egg from the wild, kid! So let's compound that mistake by trying to drown it, then blasting it dry with a hair dryer. Needless to say, not the greatest manual on pet ownership.

[Christine Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featuring full-color photographs, this story of a little duck growing up will waddle its way into the hearts of emerging readers everywhere.

Notes
PHOEBE DUNN was a world-renowned photographer best known for her pictures of children and animals. Her photographs have been published in more than twenty children's books, many of them written by her daughter, Judy Dunn.


Note: "This is an abridged edition of The Little Duck, originally published in a different form in the United States by Random House Children's Books, New York, in 1976."

[Elizabeth Bancroft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Little Duck by Judy Dunn, photos by Phoebe Dunn, is a touching story about a little boy who discovers a duck egg by the edge of a pond and brings it back home. He put the egg in the incubator until 28 days later, the egg hatches. He names the duck Henry. Eventually Henry grew up and he became lonely. One day, he wanders until he eventually encounters a girl duck and they have an egg of their own. I received this book as a gift from my aunt in Easter 1996 and I have always loved it. I also thought the full-color photographs added meaning to the story.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it contains some outdated views about nature--a little boy takes an egg from a ducks' nest on a creekbank and places it in an incubator (inexplicably, the duckling turns out to be a white domestic duck), the up-close photos of the hatching process are valuable and can be used to replace classroom hatching projects, which are often an animal welfare disaster.

It's also always nice to see a farm animal depicted as an individual and a valued companion, rather than a commodity. There are some sweet photos of Henry interacting with his human friends.

[Kelly Wickham · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very endearing and gentle book about a boy and his duck that he raises from an egg and brings to life in an incubator. The pictures are real-life pictures that make the story even more meaningful and endearing. The duck grows up and finds a mate and has eggs of his own and everyone lived happily ever after. I have had this book since my childhood and it is very comforting.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the pictures of the duckling in its daily life. Alice was somewhat bothered by the boy taking the egg and raising the duckling because she did not think he should disturb wild things in nature.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copyright 1976. A Random House book. Photographs instead of illustrations.

This was actually better than the lamb book. We see Henry the duck from an egg to all grown up with his girlfriend!

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute for beginning readers. I'm not a big fan of these easy reader type books, but, they do help a beginning reader feel like they've accomplished something. This one was cuter than some.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

2/26/2018 Read with Naomi & Julia.

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story. I definitely recommend this story on so many levels. Read it to you kids. Give it as a gift. Just don't let this book pass you by, no matter what your age .

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Nonfiction easy reader follows the hatching and early days of a young duck. Cute real life pictures. Preschool and up

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An emergent reader story about a boy who hatches a duck and watches it grow until it one day has an egg of its own. Fun real photographs!

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to Sam.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book: the pictures manage to be sweet and informative without seeming effort, and my son loves the hatching sequence in particular. But this should really be the story of Henrietta, not Henry. Only female ducks let out loud quacks, and her “girl friend” at the end clearly has a drake’s curling tail feather. Whoops. As someone who keeps ducks it does bother me, so then I spend the whole book trying to consistently flip pronouns.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book that I remember from my own childhood and now my son is asking me to read it to him. And man... It's one of those books that you just sort of begrudgingly grind your way through.

Also: kind of a Bildungsroman? But with a duckling? And/or it's totally a book about puberty. The only thing it's missing is the pubescent duckling having a confusing wet dream.

ALSO: dude! Why is that boy just randomly picking up eggs and taking them home? And furthermore: the way it ends? With the grown-up duckling's own egg left in the grass like that -- aren't we setting this story up to be a bit cyclical?

[Joshua Nomen-Mutatio · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in 2 minutes at an estate sale yesterday and had a mildly enlightening discussion about it with a 5 year old girl who emphatically does not like ducks. Then I thought about how funny it would be if I added this book to my GoodReads page and here we are.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have just adopted 2 ducklings so this was a perfect book to read about ducks from the egg to adulthood.

[Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A childhood favorite, kinda weird, with awesome retro pictures, still holds up! Well worth the .50 at the Goodwill.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Henry, a duck, from egg to full grown duck.

[Katie Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very cute book. I really enjoyed reading it. I think that it is a great book to read to children in order to teach them about the life cycle of a duck.

[Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notes:
real animals and kids in gorgeous photos
perfect for preschool age 3-4
love all these Dunn books

[Keeko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, gentle humor, and full of love. This is one of those books you would like every one to read.

[Hillvan]

AD560L

[Nathan Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy finds egg. Boy raises duck.