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Little Ducks Go
A walk in town turns into a harrowing adventure for six little ducklings in this Guided Reading Level C Book.
Following their mother down the street, the baby ducklings are swept up in a gush of water and washed down a storm drain. "Quack!" says their mother. "Cheep cheep!" call the babies.
Sailing through the sewer pipes, the little ducks go, as mother duck chases them from drain to drain, trying to keep them calm. When her quacks attract the attention of a kind-hearted man, the little ducks are rescued!
With warm, nostalgic watercolor paintings, Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully takes readers on a journey, chasing the little ducklings and their mother through the streets of a small town and a busier city. Perfect for young readers, this is a satisfying story of accidental adventure-- with a happy ending.
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year!
The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own!
For readers who've mastered basic sight words already, Level C books feature slightly longer sentences, suitable for mid-to-late kindergarten readers, and introduce a wider range of high-frequency vocabulary words. Move onto Level D once you've mastered them!
Following their mother down the street, the baby ducklings are swept up in a gush of water and washed down a storm drain. "Quack!" says their mother. "Cheep cheep!" call the babies.
Sailing through the sewer pipes, the little ducks go, as mother duck chases them from drain to drain, trying to keep them calm. When her quacks attract the attention of a kind-hearted man, the little ducks are rescued!
With warm, nostalgic watercolor paintings, Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully takes readers on a journey, chasing the little ducklings and their mother through the streets of a small town and a busier city. Perfect for young readers, this is a satisfying story of accidental adventure-- with a happy ending.
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year!
The award-winning I Like to Read® series focuses on guided reading levels A through G, based upon Fountas and Pinnell standards. Acclaimed author-illustrators--including winners of Caldecott, Theodor Seuss Geisel, and Coretta Scott King honors—create original, high quality illustrations that support comprehension of simple text and are fun for kids to read with parents, teachers, or on their own!
For readers who've mastered basic sight words already, Level C books feature slightly longer sentences, suitable for mid-to-late kindergarten readers, and introduce a wider range of high-frequency vocabulary words. Move onto Level D once you've mastered them!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Emily Arnold McCully
191 books74 followersEmily Arnold McCully received the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire. The illustrator of more than 40 books for young readers, she divides her time between Chatham, New York, and New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
October 12, 2018
Sweet book about some lost ducklings who get reunited with their mother.
3/25/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
10/12/18 Read with Julia
3/25/17 Read with Naomi & Julia.
10/12/18 Read with Julia
June 26, 2015
A far cry from McCloskey. Enough said.
February 26, 2014
Little ducks go. Mama duck leads. Little ducks--watch out! Little ducks fall through a grate. Mama duck seeks help. People get involved and the family is reunited. This is a very simple, yet surprisingly heart-warming, story by award-winning author/illustrator Emily Arnold McCully. The text is perfect for a beginning reader to enjoy that glorious feeling of reading success. The watercolor illustrations are perfectly suited to the text, carrying much of the story as the ducklings delight in their adventure, and Mama does what she can to seek help. New readers need lots of material. They go through those short books so quickly! This is one that they will want to read and reread. I used this book with classes of students from kindergarten to second grade, and it was universally enjoyed, even by those students whose reading level is much higher.
September 8, 2019
I saw this book on the shelf at the library and thought the photo on the cover was so cute, so I decided to give it a try and read through it. I am glad I made that choice, because this was just as cute as the cover. The illustrations are great and tie in with the text which is great for younger kids! It is an easy picture book for beginning readers. It uses repetition and is adorable. It is also well structured. We should not judge a book by its cover, but I did. I thought it would be a good book, and guess what? It was!
March 16, 2021
The story of Little Ducks Go was very cute and heartwarming. The book follows the adventure of the little ducks that fell down a drain. The mother duck is frantic to get her little ducks back. Finally, a nice man is able to help the mother duck out and get the little ducks out of the drain. The watercolor illustrations are very well done. They seem alive with the mother's franticness and the little ducks excitement for adventure. While I think everyone would enjoy reading this very cute tale, it would be best suited for kindergartener to 1st graders.
September 11, 2018
While out walking with their mother, the Little Ducks fail to watch where they are walking, and end up down in a sewer. Mother Duck does all she can to rescue her babies, but help is needed from others. Many helping hands are involved to help Mother Duck reunite her with her Little Ducks.
December 11, 2020
A mother duck and her six little ducklings go for a walk, but the babies are so small they fall through a grate. The mother needs help to save them. Nice illustrated story with a good ending in this easy to read book.
September 23, 2025
A scary thought for a mother duck to see all her ducklings go down into the water sewer. She follows them from overhead on the street until a kind man opens the cover to the sewer and rescues the ducklings. I liked the story.
February 3, 2021
Un hombre salva a los patitos que se cayeron por una alcantarilla y se los devuelve a su mamá.
Ducklings return to their mom thanks to a kind stranger who saw something was wrong.
Ducklings return to their mom thanks to a kind stranger who saw something was wrong.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2025
So cute!
November 16, 2016
Children's book #7
Summary
Six little ducklings are swept away down a sewer away from their mother. The mother duck guides them from the street as she quacks and they cheep. She comes across the opening of the sewer in the middle of the street. A kind man helps her and rescues the baby ducks using a net. The mother and her babies are now together again.
Activity
Split the book up into five different events:
1. Ducklings slide into a sewer
2. Mother duck guides them from above ground
3. Mother duck runs into the middle of the street
4. Man helps rescue the ducklings
5. Mother duck is reunited with her babies
Mix these events up and see if the students can put them in the correct order. This will test their recall skills and teach them about the importance of sequence of events.
Citation
McCully, E. A. (2014). Little ducks go. Malaysia: Holiday House.
Summary
Six little ducklings are swept away down a sewer away from their mother. The mother duck guides them from the street as she quacks and they cheep. She comes across the opening of the sewer in the middle of the street. A kind man helps her and rescues the baby ducks using a net. The mother and her babies are now together again.
Activity
Split the book up into five different events:
1. Ducklings slide into a sewer
2. Mother duck guides them from above ground
3. Mother duck runs into the middle of the street
4. Man helps rescue the ducklings
5. Mother duck is reunited with her babies
Mix these events up and see if the students can put them in the correct order. This will test their recall skills and teach them about the importance of sequence of events.
Citation
McCully, E. A. (2014). Little ducks go. Malaysia: Holiday House.
June 11, 2014
Beautiful pen and ink and watercolor illustrations perfectly set the stage for this wonderful story about a mother duck and her six ducklings. With the repetitive sentence, "Little ducks go," and the ducklings responses of "Cheep, cheep, cheep" to their mothers calling, young readers will quickly pick up on these words and feel successful as readers. Themes associated with this title include the following: animals (fiction), easy readers, and science and nature.
This title is recommended for first grade, or children between the ages of 4 - 8. It is leveled at C based on the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Level and focuses on reading standards for Literature and Foundational Skills in the English Language Arts Common Core Standards for kindergarten through second grade.
This title is recommended for first grade, or children between the ages of 4 - 8. It is leveled at C based on the Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Level and focuses on reading standards for Literature and Foundational Skills in the English Language Arts Common Core Standards for kindergarten through second grade.
April 17, 2014
A mother duck and her little ducklings are walking along the edge of a street. Unfortunately, there is no friendly police officer to assist them across the street like there was in MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS and the little ducks get swept down into the sewer. The anxious mother duck follows them from above waddling from grate to grate along the street. The book is intended as an early reader and I was impressed by how well Emily McCully captures the mother's frantic concern in her illustrations and brief words. Will the mother duck find a way to get the ducks out? The love of a mother, a suspenseful event, and the sweetest of ducklings are all adoringly captured in this sweet book.
February 3, 2015
Simple text that shares an animal rescue story that is great for prekindergarten students. A mother duck and her ducklings are out for a walk and the ducklings fall through a sewer grate. Mother duck follows them and tries to get them help. She is able to get a man to help her save the ducks and then a child who is watching takes the ducks home. A great way for very early readers to begin learning about caring for animals and reading on their own as the sentences are very simple and the story moves very quickly. PPCD students could act out the story as a way to keep them engaged with the text.
Colors are muted and not bright and look almost like watercolor work.
Colors are muted and not bright and look almost like watercolor work.
January 6, 2015
Lovely, lovely pictures. The plot is more complex than the simplified text can convey, so it didn't make much sense to my preschooler. I ended up explaining as much as I would have for a wordless book.
August 11, 2016
In the tradition of MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, this is just a sweet little book that introduces humane concepts to the very youngest of children. Animals have feelings to and it's a good thing when grownups help animals in trouble.
April 12, 2014
An adorable story about ducklings who explore their neighborhood, making human friends along the way. Short, simple sentences and controlled vocabulary make this an excellent choice for children just beginning to read independently.
February 3, 2014
An easier version, for a longer version, try Eva Moore's Lucky Ducklings.
May 9, 2014
When 6 ducklings are whisked down a storm drain, Mama Duck must find a way to rescue them. Pair with Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore, based on true events that took place in New York in 2000.
May 15, 2014
Cute and simple. Could have kids quack and cheep!
June 3, 2014
Ducklings in peril! I love the I Like to Read series.
June 7, 2014
Eh...a little below my boys reading level. But they seemed to like it. One even wants to be a duck now.
June 12, 2014
Mama is always there!
January 30, 2015
Only 39 unique words yet McCully still crafts an entire story. Great for beginning readers.
February 19, 2015
Proof that there are a few good people.
March 21, 2015
Mother duck's babies fall through a grating on the street. Will someone be able to fish them out and return them to their mama?
February 19, 2014
Ducklings whisked down a storm drain and rescued with the help of a kindly human.
January 6, 2015
4.5 stars
July 24, 2018
Very simple and very sweet.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews