Five Little Ducks

by Ian Beck (Illustrator)

When her five little ducks disappear one by one, Mother Duck sets out to find them.

Genres: Music, Picture Books, Folklore, Animals, Childrens

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

Ian Archibald Beck (born 1947 in Brighton) is an English children's illustrator and author. In addition to his numerous children's books, he is also most famous for his cover illustration on Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road album. He has sold more than a million copies of his books worldwide.

Reviews

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colourful picture book, based on the song "Five Little Ducks". Would be great for Nursery, to read whilst learning the song "Five Little Ducks" and also to learn numbers 1 - 5 and counting. It could also be used in Reception for singing, but also to develop their number skills and to subtract. The picture book is available as a large picture book, so when used in class the children can see the text, pictures and numbers. A well illustrated book great for EYFS and to develop their numerical knowledge.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book.of the song. Reminds me of rhyme time

[Amandeep Daffu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The now widely used nursery rhyme ‘five little ducks’, is based on this adventurous book about five ducklings. The story entails, five ducklings going for a swim every day, over the hills and far away. However one duck is lost each day, as a fox takes it away from the group of ducklings. At the end of the story the last duckling finds his siblings locked in a shed, where the fox had hid them. They manage to escape and reunite with mother duck.

I believe this story is more suited to nursery and reception classes. It allows room for imagination, where a teacher can incorporate role-play with the children and discuss feelings, e.g. how did the ducklings feel? Were they scared? It can also be used to teach certain areas of the EYFS framework, such as ‘Understanding the World’, ‘PSED’, ‘Numeracy’ and ‘Literacy’. Particularly in Numeracy, it is nice to relate counting to a story that children of this age group are able to relate to.
The presentation of this book is colourful, attractive, soft and warming to readers. The story can be easily understood by viewing the illustrations, therefore allowing children who are unable to read yet (particularly children in nursery and reception) to also engage with the book independently.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Five little ducks gradually disappear despite mother's "quacks" to call them back. A wolf lurks nearby, so we wonder if they've been eaten. All eventually are found, but it's not clear why they wandered off or how they ended up in the same spot.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read at Baby/Toddler Story Time on 7/31/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Ashley Whiteley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would bring joy to anyone. The language is fun and imaginative. The illustrations are cute and it ends perfect. It is a very good book for children. It would be great to read aloud.

[Mollywainio · Rating 4 out of 5]

really fun to sing. I do a dinner theater and the boys love it

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

An alright rendition of the popular kids song.

[Maudie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre:Modern Fantasy
Grade:K-1
This book is amazingly awesome ways to introduce counting. Love this book the colors in the pictures and the fox isn't an evil character in the book for once. I like how this book changed up the usual storyline when it comes to fox not being a predator but a friend.