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Quack
Ten-year-old Shady Cook struggles with selective mutism caused by anxiety. His best friend, Pouya, gets it—despite being the class clown, he has his own hang-ups lurking just below the surface. Shady's parents, however, are eager to find a way to help their son start talking more, so when a live duck waddles into their lives and Shady starts to respond, they reluctantly decide to give Svenrietta the emotional support duck a chance. Before long, Shady, Pouya, and their diaper-wearing duck are working to help all of the underdogs (or is it underducks?) at their school—and there are many.
- GenresMiddle Grade
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
2 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Anna Humphrey
29 books112 followersAnna Humphrey is the author of Rhymes with Cupid (HarperTeen, 2010), Mission (Un)Popular (Disney/Hyperion Books for Children, 2011), Ruby Goldberg's Bright Idea (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014) and Clara Humble & the Not-So-Super Powers (OwlKids Books, 2016)—all books for young readers. She lives in Kitchener, Ontario with her husband and kids.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 25, 2019
What a delightful way to show what a sever form of anxiety can do to a child, and how an emotional support duck can help him and his best friend, and frankly, many of the children of the 5th grade, with coping.
Shady can't talk. But he has other ways to express himself, as long as they don't draw attention to him. However, having an emotional support duck allows him to have a way to express himself, and draw attention to his duck, that appears to work well for him.
Delightful story told by his sister, his best friend, and his form best friend who has now become a bit of a bully and a mean girl (tm).
And Svenrietta is a fun duck, that helps others as well. And dances. And loves to listen to others read stories. Until...
Yes, the "until" even made me cry.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Shady can't talk. But he has other ways to express himself, as long as they don't draw attention to him. However, having an emotional support duck allows him to have a way to express himself, and draw attention to his duck, that appears to work well for him.
Delightful story told by his sister, his best friend, and his form best friend who has now become a bit of a bully and a mean girl (tm).
And Svenrietta is a fun duck, that helps others as well. And dances. And loves to listen to others read stories. Until...
Yes, the "until" even made me cry.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
July 21, 2020
This is a good story about children with mutism (a form of autism) and bullying. My rating 4.5.
Shady is a ten-year-old who struggles with selective mutism. He rarely speaks even with his sister and parents and almost never outside his home. His teachers and classmates have become accustomed to his behavior although it does leave him with limited friends. Shady’s only true friend is Pouya, the class clown and another classmate on the fringe, with mothers who have immigrated from a country where their relationship was outlawed.
One day as they are returning from school, Shady and Pouya stumble upon some ducklings who have been separated from their mother who has crossed the road. The pair make a daring, messy rescue to deliver the babies to their mother. But in the excitement of the reunion, one duckling is forgotten and not discovered until the boys arrive home.
Shady quickly becomes attached, turning Quack into a true emotional support pet. There is hope in the strengths that the duck brings but not all of the students are understanding. Some of his classmates resent that Svenrietta is allowed in class as a therapy duck. When Sven goes missing during a Christmas play rehearsal, it is a crisis for Shady. That trauma spills over to his sister and parents, his friend Pouya, and even his classmates.
I totally loved Sven and the support she brings to Shady. The author uses this story to great effect to share the difficulties and struggles of Shady’s condition. The story shows how a support pet, even an unusual one, can help the child and the family. The story also shows the impact on classmates and how important it is to help children be sensitive to the struggles of others. I supposed it will be difficult to convince children they can’t each have their own therapy duck, like Svenreitta.
My 8-year-old granddaughter read part of this one day while visiting the office. She really liked it too. I recommend this to middle-grade students and to parents for sharing the lessons with their children.
Source: NetGalley 2020.
Shady is a ten-year-old who struggles with selective mutism. He rarely speaks even with his sister and parents and almost never outside his home. His teachers and classmates have become accustomed to his behavior although it does leave him with limited friends. Shady’s only true friend is Pouya, the class clown and another classmate on the fringe, with mothers who have immigrated from a country where their relationship was outlawed.
One day as they are returning from school, Shady and Pouya stumble upon some ducklings who have been separated from their mother who has crossed the road. The pair make a daring, messy rescue to deliver the babies to their mother. But in the excitement of the reunion, one duckling is forgotten and not discovered until the boys arrive home.
Shady quickly becomes attached, turning Quack into a true emotional support pet. There is hope in the strengths that the duck brings but not all of the students are understanding. Some of his classmates resent that Svenrietta is allowed in class as a therapy duck. When Sven goes missing during a Christmas play rehearsal, it is a crisis for Shady. That trauma spills over to his sister and parents, his friend Pouya, and even his classmates.
I totally loved Sven and the support she brings to Shady. The author uses this story to great effect to share the difficulties and struggles of Shady’s condition. The story shows how a support pet, even an unusual one, can help the child and the family. The story also shows the impact on classmates and how important it is to help children be sensitive to the struggles of others. I supposed it will be difficult to convince children they can’t each have their own therapy duck, like Svenreitta.
My 8-year-old granddaughter read part of this one day while visiting the office. She really liked it too. I recommend this to middle-grade students and to parents for sharing the lessons with their children.
Source: NetGalley 2020.
August 30, 2021
First the positive: The depiction of Shady's character with Selective Mutism was very well done and very accurate. As I was reading I kept thinking "the author has to know someone personally with Selective Mutism to be able to get this just right," and I saw in the author's note at the end that her own daughter has this disorder. So first and foremost I have to say that I am thankful for this book because to see this character portrayed so accurately and positively in a charming story--it was really refreshing. I think it was helpful for my son with SM to read a book about a character just like him. Those are rare finds. The story was also very well done in general and my children (mixed ages--7, 8, 9, 13, 16) all really enjoyed this one. It might be an enjoyable book for someone who enjoyed reading Wonder.
My negatives are mostly nit-picky. 1) The cover of this book does it a great disservice and makes it look like it's intended for a more juvenile audience, maybe age 7 or 8. But though the main character was 10 I still felt like this is more of a book for middle-schoolers, just with some of the meanness/attitude/etc. that some of the characters exhibited. And on that same note, there was some content that snuck up on me, like a sexual innuendo and some using the Lord's name in vain, so that seemed pretty out of place.
2) Is it possible for a book to be too "diverse?" In some ways I felt like the author was trying too hard and the inclusion of characters was getting a little out of control. Two moms for Shady's friend, great, fine, that works. But the friend is also a refugee? There are ESL students, poor students, a boy who likes to wear dresses, etc. And I'm totally cool with all that and I understand that those characters were laying the framework for the Underducks, but it was just a lot to put into one book. I'm not saying it went too deeply into any of those issues, but it just felt to me like the focus was a little scattered.
Overall though, none of those things were overly emphasized and this was a gentle and comfortable read-aloud for my kiddos. I really appreciate the effort to write and publish a book about a somewhat rare anxiety disorder that has a character that seemed so genuine (and who doesn't experience a magical and unrealistic recovery.)
My negatives are mostly nit-picky. 1) The cover of this book does it a great disservice and makes it look like it's intended for a more juvenile audience, maybe age 7 or 8. But though the main character was 10 I still felt like this is more of a book for middle-schoolers, just with some of the meanness/attitude/etc. that some of the characters exhibited. And on that same note, there was some content that snuck up on me, like a sexual innuendo and some using the Lord's name in vain, so that seemed pretty out of place.
2) Is it possible for a book to be too "diverse?" In some ways I felt like the author was trying too hard and the inclusion of characters was getting a little out of control. Two moms for Shady's friend, great, fine, that works. But the friend is also a refugee? There are ESL students, poor students, a boy who likes to wear dresses, etc. And I'm totally cool with all that and I understand that those characters were laying the framework for the Underducks, but it was just a lot to put into one book. I'm not saying it went too deeply into any of those issues, but it just felt to me like the focus was a little scattered.
Overall though, none of those things were overly emphasized and this was a gentle and comfortable read-aloud for my kiddos. I really appreciate the effort to write and publish a book about a somewhat rare anxiety disorder that has a character that seemed so genuine (and who doesn't experience a magical and unrealistic recovery.)
December 9, 2019
I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book tells the story of Shady, a young boy with selective mutism who’ finds solace in a duck he and his friend bring home. Shady’s relationship with the duck, who quickly earns the title of ‘therapy duck,’ becomes an incredible one right away, and its effect on Shady is immediately apparent. When Shady’s duck Svenrietta goes missing, however, it quickly becomes a crisis.
This book dis an excellent job dealing with selective mutism and the impact therapy animals can have on anxiety. Is an important addition to the field and I think middle grade readers will enjoy it.
This book tells the story of Shady, a young boy with selective mutism who’ finds solace in a duck he and his friend bring home. Shady’s relationship with the duck, who quickly earns the title of ‘therapy duck,’ becomes an incredible one right away, and its effect on Shady is immediately apparent. When Shady’s duck Svenrietta goes missing, however, it quickly becomes a crisis.
This book dis an excellent job dealing with selective mutism and the impact therapy animals can have on anxiety. Is an important addition to the field and I think middle grade readers will enjoy it.
did-not-finish
March 16, 2021DNF @24% Eh... there were some few problematic things said about Pouya that could have worked out, but I couldn't get past the duck. It's the entire premise, so I knew it was coming, but it's just so unbelievable. Like, actually unbelievable because there are literal laws in most states that prevent people from adopting wildlife. Also, a therapy animal is NOT the same thing as an emotional support animal. Kids aren't going to realize any of this and will probably enjoy the book, but I just can't.
January 28, 2020
I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book! What a great topic to write a book about. And the characters were phenomenal. From the quirky Pouya, to the reserved Shady and sweet older sister Manda. But the real hero of this book was non other than Svenrietta. I think every kid is going to read this book and fall in love with Svenrietta and I think every parent needs to go out and get their kids their own Svenrietta!
June 26, 2021
The cover for this book is a bit decieving in making you think it will be much more childlike than it really is. I really enjoyed the blackout poetry throughout the book and wish that it didn't stop towards then end because there was a lot of power in Shady's voice at those moments. This is unlike anything I have read before and I feel it will be very relatable to many types of kids.
June 21, 2020
A foundling duck becomes an emotional-support animal and brings the whole fifth grade together.
March 31, 2021
Fun book for promoting empathy and poetry month.
August 31, 2021
Maybe a 4.5, but I loved this book! See http://www.eatreadandbemommy.com/2021... for details.
November 1, 2019
Quack is the story of Shady, his very supportive family and friends and an emotional support duck.
Pouya is a kind hearted, bold boy from Iran with two moms. Shady has an anxiety disorder called selective mutism which means that he doesn’t talk to anyone outside of his family. The two are best friends.
They find baby ducks while riding bikes one day. When one of the ducklings accidentally gets taken home with the boys, the duck becomes Shady's emotional support duck. Shady names her Svenrietta.
Manda, Shady’s sister is one of the only people he talks to and she is an AMAZING and supportive teenage sister!
Quack is superb!!! This book has everything a middle grade story needs. It's a compassionate underdog (underduck!) story! There is serious topic, anxiety disorders, interlaced with witty prose andcompassionate characters. I'm going to read this with all three of my kids and I highly recommend it to people of all ages!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Pouya is a kind hearted, bold boy from Iran with two moms. Shady has an anxiety disorder called selective mutism which means that he doesn’t talk to anyone outside of his family. The two are best friends.
They find baby ducks while riding bikes one day. When one of the ducklings accidentally gets taken home with the boys, the duck becomes Shady's emotional support duck. Shady names her Svenrietta.
Manda, Shady’s sister is one of the only people he talks to and she is an AMAZING and supportive teenage sister!
Quack is superb!!! This book has everything a middle grade story needs. It's a compassionate underdog (underduck!) story! There is serious topic, anxiety disorders, interlaced with witty prose andcompassionate characters. I'm going to read this with all three of my kids and I highly recommend it to people of all ages!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews