Oh, Ducky!

by David Slonim

a great book to read

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Adventure, Fiction

36 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

David Slonim is an award-winning illustrator of many children’s books, including The Deer Watch by Pat Lowery Collins. He lives with his wife, four kids, and a dog named Maggie in Indiana.

Reviews

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE IT! All right, so maybe that's because I'm a bit partial to ducks, particularly of the rubber ducky kind. But I truly did love the story, the illustrations, and the characters. And there was much more for me to love--cows outside the chocolate factory. Pauline and her timpani. Johnny who loves his rubber ducky (I totally understand). Johnny who is worried out of his mind when Ducky goes missing. (I'd be the same way if some of my toys were suddenly gome. Well, all right, I have already BEEN that way before. Almost late to work because I couldn't find Bob. Just terrible.) I also enjoyed following Mr. Peters' chocolate journey.

A cute, silly book which is exactly what my little heart needed--and I am so happy I read it! Must figure out how to work this one into storytime.

For those who understand the sentiments of "Velveteen Rabbit" and "Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" and have a sense of humor, you will love this book.

Summer 2010 - read for K-5 storytime. Definitely enjoyed.

4/11/12 I had to try this in my "That's Silly" theme. Wanted tp see how well it would work with the preschool group. Had a few older than I typically get, and they helped get the younger kids involved. I'm sure some of the humor was lost on the younger kids. But they enjoyed when I asked if they liked candy, chocolate, tasting chocolate, diving in chocolate, or having chocolate spray all over their room. I did a few spans of Mr. Peters in the machine so they could spot all the odd stuff inside. They liked that--especially when I finally had them look for the duck. They liked the big idea of a chocolate duck. I'm really glad this worked out. Older kids pick out the details in the pictures better than younger kids can in a large group, but they still got it and it was fun to read it. Nice to have books I loved when I wasn't feeling well.

10/30/13 A nice and different choice to have for a Halloween theme because it is chocolate and candy. I knew I would have a smaller group (~15 kids at most), so they would be able to see some of the details more up close than the larger groups. They enjoyed seeing the different things in the pipes. It was a cute addition.

11/3/18-11/7/18 Pulled this to use for school visits. But brought it home because I thought SD would like it. And she did. She looked at it the night she came home and was excited to find out why there was a crab and a treasure chest in the pipes. I read this to some of the classes. Can't remember which ones, but the grades I covered were 1, 2, 3, and 5. They enjoyed it, too.

[Tricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading He Came with the Couch, I noticed this book was also by David Slonim. The 6yo and I share a love of chocolate, so of course we had to get this title. It's not as bizarre as He Came with the Couch, and it gives you an opportunity to think about life as a chocolate taster, or an inventor of chocolate machines, or a person covered in chocolate. And for chocolate lovers like us, all of those are good reasons to read a book more than once.

[Megan Frangia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny book about a mishap in a chocolate factory. Great for looking at turning problems into successes as well as looking at character introductions.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cute book! I think this book would be the perfect age for Pre-K/ Kindergarten age children. This book is about Mr. Peters who owns a chocolate factory, Johnny who works in the chocolate factory, his rubber ducky, and Pauline who tests the chocolate that comes out of the machine. This one day, Pauline was trying to fix the machine and he accidentally knocked Ducky into the chocolate and it was declared an EMERGENCY! So, Mr. Peters comes to save the chocolate factory. The books is so cute at the ending.
This book is just a fun, laughable book to enjoy!

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A CANDY story time wouldn't be complete without this little drama starring:
Mr. Peters (who drives a candy truck to deliver candy made at his chocolate factory)
Johnny (who works at the factory)
Johnny's rubber duck (who goes to work with Johnny)
Pauline (who is in charge of Quality Control) and uses words like "Sensational!" "Yippee Skippee!" and "Fragile"

One day the machine STOPPED and Ducky was LOST and the pace of the story picks up as all FRANTICALLY seek a solution.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a humorous, but quite silly story about a chocolate factory, a favorite possession, and a disaster that turns into an inspiration. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are cartoonish and colorful. The images of the critters and other items in the pipes of the chocolate machine are a bit strange, but entertaining nonetheless. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to read. It just didn't flow of my tongue. Really silly.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines two of my favorite things: chocolate and rubber ducks. Fun read and I liked the illustrations.

[Jen S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book cracked me up.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and a quick read, but nothing to write home about. Illustrations aren't particularly striking, though likeable and child-friendly, and the story is sweet and simple.