Duck!

by Meg McKinlay

A delightfully duckish tale of farmyard disaster.

It’s a quiet day on the farm until Duck arrives. When he starts calling out “DUCK!”, the other animals think he’s just being rude. “You can’t just run around yelling out your name!” they grumble.

But what if that’s not what Duck means at all? Perhaps ignoring him could have unexpected consequences …

This hilarious picture book begs reading aloud and active participation.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Storytime, Fiction, Birds

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2018

About the author

Meg McKinlay is a children's writer and poet living in Fremantle, Western Australia.

She has published twenty-five books for young people, ranging from picture books through to young adult novels, and a collection of poetry for adults. Her work has won awards including the Prime Minister's Literary Award, the CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award, and the WA Premier's Book Award, among others.

A former academic, swimming teacher, Japanese interpreter and tour guide, Meg has accidentally lived her life in accordance with the song lyrics, "If you see a strange door to your left/then drop your things and run for it"*, which is how she found herself wrangling words for a living. Meg has no plans to drop writing, though, and is always cooking up more books.

* From 'Wildflowers', by Things of Stone and Wood

Reviews

[Brona's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost wish I was still a preschool teacher so that I could have the pleasure of reading this picture book aloud to a group of children!

Fabulous fun language "The pig was wallowing in the mud and the sheep was sheeping on the grass"
with repetition, animal voices and great descriptions "You are a duck. I am a horse. You see - you are small and waddly and I am noble and tall" that are all in the eye of the beholder.

Eckstrom's illustrations help to set the scene for the grand finale by subtly giving hints about place and the impending danger.

The real joy comes with the reread, when your now-in-on-the-joke 4 year old appreciates the set-up even more.

A great discussion can also be had with emerging readers about homonyms and the fun to be had when you mix them up, accidentally or otherwise!

[Effie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids will love this. The expressions of the animals in the illustrations complement the text beautifully.

[Jacki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure catastrophic weather as a punchline is in very good taste. I certainly wouldn't read it here after our tornado outbreak this year. The kids are freaked out enough as it is.

[Cayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a cute children's book. Very colorful. I can imagine parents/grandparents/babysitters reading this with animated voices.

[Jen McGraw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read with my son for the 2x2 Reading Program!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and informative in a silly way

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a quiet day on the farm, the horse is swishing his tail, cow is chewing her cud, pig is wallowing in the mud, and sheep are sheeping on the grass. That is until Duck starts to yell DUCK! Each animal interrupts him to explain that he is indeed a duck, and they are not. However, Duck knows he is indeed a duck, but that's not what he should have yelled. After all this farm was located in Kansas.

[Lorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Duck interrupts a quiet afternoon on the farm with his repeated cries of “DUCK”, the other animals become annoyed and try to explain that they are not ducks and launch into lectures to make him understand his “mistake.” What they don’t realize until it’s too late, is that he was warning them of a danger in the sky.

This picture book has a clever story concept combined with warm eye-catching illustrations which make this a fun choice for a read aloud to preschool to early elementary grades. Duck’s repeated attempts to get his message across, his adoption of a tin pail helmet, and that mysterious shape in the sky gives children the chance to realize that something might be seriously wrong before the clueless farm animals get their comeuppance.

I would recommend this book for purchase by any school or public library.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[J.L. Slipak · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY THOUGHTS:

I received this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely love this book! The MC is such an adorable farmyard character. In this book sometimes the littlest one has something big to say, so pay attention! The humor and fun is escalated by the double meaning of some words and applied to animals who refuse to listen.

Like many adults who are persistent in saying what they believe something should be and are often wrong, so are the larger animals of the farm. So cute and brightly illustrated with fun characters to bring the story to life. I turned the pages wanting to know how it ended and can imagine the youngest of readers doing the same. Adorable and fun! Illustrated perfectly to deliver the final ‘punch.’

There is a matching book jacket to protect the hardcover illustrations.

Well done!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humor opens in the first lines, with familiar farm animals doing predictable things- horse is swishing tail, cow is chewing cud, pig is wallowing in mud, and sheep is sheeping.
Duck's sudden arrival and repeated call of DUCK! is misunderstood for page after page, always with a scolding or condescending tone. When Duck eventually breaks through by changing the cry to RUN! the animals realize they should have empathized and explored a but more before jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. No better reminder to back-to-school adults that, as the author says in her dedication, there are plenty of little wins with important thins to say.
Let's hear what they are really trying to say, okay?

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

And from Australia, a hilarious cumulative story by Meg McKinlay that will have every young child shouting Duck! No one will listen to Duck's cries, not the horse, nor the cow, nor the pig, nor the sheep. In fact, they tell him "You need to stop this nonsense right now!". They believe he is only naming them all 'Duck', and there is a surprise, perhaps. When reading aloud, it will be fun to see if the listeners predict what's really happening. Nathaniel Eckstrom's illustrations are bold and bright cartoon-like pictures and simply done, just right for young readers. He adds some chuckles on the end, copyright page giving reference to Baum with a street sign that says "Kansas" with a newspapers' headlines saying "Batten Down the Hatches" and "Tornadoes Hit Kansas”.

[Maddie Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely adorable! A little duck confuses all of the farm animals by yelling “DUCK”, and then they all lecture him about how everyone is different and not all animals are ducks. (Shocking twist- it turns out that he’s using “duck” in a different context.) It is a great reminder to kids to rephrase something and use full sentences if people are not understanding them. Also, my favorite part is that the introduction of each animal has cows doing typical things like chewing their cud, but the sheep are just “sheeping”. Truest observation ever.

[Teresa Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is new take on the sky is falling. A duck runs through the barnyard yelling DUCK! at each animal and they in turn correct the duck. They all believe he is calling them a duck - and indignantly let him know their true identity. Meanwhile we see a strange object in the sky that appears to be coming closer. What is it? Why is duck calling everyone a duck? The ending will surprise everyone and there is a homage to The Wizard of Oz.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun picture book playing on 'duck' (animal) and 'duck!' (get out of the way).

Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[AD · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this great story. The gorgeous illustrations draw you straight in. All the animals are hanging about on the farm in peace, until Duck comes along screaming “Duck!” The other animals get cross and tell him off for being so silly and confused. But does Duck really know what he is talking about after all? Kids will love the humour in this story.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hilarious! Read it out loud, share it with a youngster - you will LOVE it! Duck is running around the barnyard trying to warn all of the animals but his word of warning, "Duck!" makes them all think he doesn't know his farm animals. Oh but he knows, alright - and I might add, keep your eyes on the sky!

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the silly voice of the farm animals misunderstanding that Duck means "duck" the verb, not "duck" the animal. Although I don't see how "ducking" could save you from a house falling on you??
I guess at the end Duck clarifies that he should have said "run!" but the joke felt a tad stretched. Still entertaining though and I think kids will like it.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sigh. I laughed at this more than my storytime audience did. Which is disappointing. I thought it was hilarious having a duck run around saying "DUCK!" and all the other barnyard animals are oblivious. They think they are being called a duck....when really it's a homophone. Duck is issuing a warning.

Oh well. I still liked it.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

McKinlay takes a joke you think you can see coming and does something even more fun with it than I guessed.

Funny repeating refrain and delightfully comic illustrations carry the story to the quite unexpected conclusion. I loved all the sneaky allusions to the Oz story. Clever! This will reward repeated readings.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is kind of cute, but I was a little underwhelmed. You wouldn't really have time for a long discussion about being polite if there's a storm and a building falling. I liked it, but it sat kind of askew with me and my kids weren't super into it. I added a star for the illustrations, which were cute.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny story to read aloud to FS and year 1 children. Duck goes around the farm shouting ‘duck’ at all the other animals. They think he is being silly and talk about everyone being different and it being boring if we were all the same. The ending reveals Duck was shouting meaning ‘watch out’ and the barn falls down. The illustrations are great and show the animals emotions really well.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love a good "duck" pun, but this one didn't hit the mark for me. It tried too hard to be funny and the ultimate payoff was not telegraphed well enough to let the reader in on the joke. The ending was horrible. Natural disaster is not funny and I don't at all like how it turned out for the animals. Boo.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the end of this book. Those farm animals were annoying and got what was coming to them. At first it started out well, reaffirming descriptions of basic farm animals, but then I decided it might not work for storytime.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book until the end-wasn't a big fan of the house falling on the animals. This book is part of the 2x2 list for 2020 so I am interested to see what my students think of it. Maybe they will enjoy it more than I did.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! Colorful illustrations and a fun story as everyone misunderstands the duck, saying "Duck!"
A very fun story to read-aloud, and especially to yell "Duck!" - I think children will especially enjoy this story.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a clever concept, but there isn't enough foreshadowing, and the ending is more alarming than humorous. This is definitely not one I would read for storytime, even though older kids would probably find this funny.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really liked the pictures and the colors, but the story was predictable, and the characters were too upset. Also that looked pretty violent at the end, but I guess everybody was okay despite a house falling on them.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, silly nod to the Chicken Little tale.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super funny with good illustrations, would work well with school-age storytime.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a cute picture book with a harsh ending. Totally hilarious!