A Duck in New York City

by Connie Kaldor, Fil & Julie (Illustrations)

The title story-song is about a little duck from the Prairies who has a big dream—making it to New York City and doing his ducky dance on Broadway! It turns out to be an adventurous journey that appears bound for failure, until he meets up with a truck driver named Big Betty. She points him in the right direction and gives him that little nudge he needs to tackle the Big Apple. Additional songs feature alligators that waltz at midnight, little girls who sing off-key to get tomatoes thrown at them, and opera-singing slugs that sneak out at night to do the boogie-woogie.

Genres: Childrens

36 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Smita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poor story with minimal build-up. Doesn't teach any lessons and doesn't feature NYC at all.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t imagine a child not loving this. It has everything that is missing from children’s music-a chance to laugh, be silly, contemplate, imagine, pretend, and believe.

[Stephanie Bange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Duck has a big idea-he wants to dance on Broadway. To get there, he must fly from the prairie where he has grown up to the Big Apple. With help from a truck driver named Big Betty, the duck realizes his dream.
I reviewed this book/CD for School Library Journal (Media Column) years ago, but ran across it recently. The book with CD is just as fresh today as it was when released in 2004.

The book, written by Saskatchewan-born singer-songwriter Connie Kaldor, is enhanced by charming stylized illustrations by Fil & Julie. They are bright and lively. The second part of the book includes the lyrics for the songs on the CD, written and performed by Kaldor.

Among the songs are "Slug Opera" (channeling Bernadette Peters in this operatic tribute to the pest), "Alligator Waltz" (a tango mimicking Madelyn Kahn's singing style), "A Duck in New York City" (sung in a big Broadway show-tune style, a la Ethel Merman, with an excerpt of "New York, New York" included), "Seed in the Ground" (building as the song progresses in a manner similar to The House That Jack Built), "I Love Tomatoes" (set to a Caribbean beat), and "Quack, Quack, Quack" (an a capella piece about animals). The CD also includes a PDF file of sheet music and song lyrics in both English and French. Kaldor excels and every song is a winner.

Sure to be a hit for preschool story times.

Highly Recommended for PreSchool-grade 2.

[Etienne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pas grand chose à dire. Un petit livre pour enfant. l'histoire est simple et ordinaire, elle ne contient pas vraiment de message ou de moral. Point positif pour certains, les chansons (paroles et enregistrement), cela peut être bien pour les enfants. Pas mauvais, mais il se fait bien mieux dans le genre!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this as a gift, and it is the cutest thing EVER! It's about a little duck who has a dream to perform on Broadway! How adorable is that? Love it!

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't listened to the songs yet. The illustrations by Fil et Julie are good. The story is so-so. The book is also available in French.