Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack

by Barbara Anne Skalak, Sylvia Long

Award-winning artist Sylvia Long has teamed up with first-time children's book author Barbara Skalak to bring us a touching tale of one little duckling's first day in the world. From the moment our little duckling peeks out from the broken eggshell, he discovers the wonder of his Mama's love, brothers and sisters, the pond—but wait! Where's Mama? Our adorable little duckling finds himself all alone, and the search for his Mama begins. This exciting and delightful story will warm hearts of mothers and children everywhere.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Birds, Nature

36 pages, Hardcover

First published February 10, 2005

Reviews

[Two Hearts Homeschool · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Savouring every moment my 5 year still loves warm picture books like this :)

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 STARS. More cute critters from the pen of Sylvia Long. Snuggly-cute ducklings made me smile on every page. The text is a pleasant rhyme about ducklings hatching and having their first adventure with Mom. But, one little duckling gets separated from the group! How will he find his way back to Mom?

This could be a reassuring text for children who worry about being separated from their mom. Or, it could scare them! The little duck does get very frightened. Also, Mother Duck is constantly warning the chicks about the dangers around them, like a hawk flying overhead. So, parental guidance is recommended. Still, I thought it was cute if nothing truly spectacular.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 2005 title was a good debut for the author with her rhyming text that tells a story from egg to ducking of a duck family living on a lake. What really brings this title to life is Sylvia Long’s up close and very detailed illustrations of the ducklings and their explorations. Going to find more titles illustrated by Sylvia Long.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This week I read the story Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack by Barbara Anne Skalak to my preschool class. The first time I read the story I asked the children: Did the little duckling find his way back to his mama?, Was it easy or hard for him to find him mom?, Why? How do you know or why do you think that?, Where did the Little Duckling look for his mama? The children then drew a picture and wrote in their writing journals about where the Little Duckling looked for his mama. The second day I reviewed the story with the children and we discussed Why did the Little Duckling get lost?, What were some of the scary things that happened to the Little Duckling? I then read the story Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore. We discussed what happened to the little ducklings in this story that was scary. We compared this story to the Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack story. We discussed how both ducklings lost their mothers but in different ways. The third day I taught the children the vocabulary words, waddle, roam, disappeared and ducklings. We acted out the story pretending to be the ducklings in the story.

Text set:
Lucky Ducklings by Eva Moore
10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle
5 busy ducklings
A day at Greenhill Farm by Sue Nicholson
Diva Duck dreams by Janice Levy
Duck by Stephen Savage
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
Ducks! by Gail Gibbons
Giggle, giggle, quack by Doreen Cronin
I wish I had duck feet by Theo LeSieg
Quick duck! by Mary Murphy
Duckling by Lisa Magloff
Fix-it Duck by Jez Alborough
The Ugly Duckling by Troy Howell
Click, Clack, moo by Doreen Cronin

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My four-year-old son checked this book out from the library earlier this week.

This book starts out GREAT! I thought it was going to go on my need-to-buy list. The story, and there IS a story with this book, is good and cute and ends well. The illustrations are adorable through-out. Sylvia Long did a great job with the textures of the ducks' feathers and the expressions, especially the eyes, on the faces.

The story is told in rhyme, and for about the first half of the book, the rhyme flows very nicely and is a pleasure to read. About halfway through, however, I began to wish that the book had been written in straight prose. Very little of the early charm would have been lost, and much would have been gained later in the book.

I see clunky, forced rhyming as a problem in many children's books. It is an easy trap to fall into. So many times, I wish the rhyming scheme had been scrapped entirely. I often wonder if anyone read the story out loud before the book was published.

[Kaitlin McDonough · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be a good read aloud story for kindergarten or first grade students. You could also teach students about why words rhyme and use this book as an example for rhyming texts as an opening to a poetry unit. I like this book I thought that the illustrations could have been grander but they are set in nature. The illustrations are the colors we would find in nature so it does make since to keep the colors of the illustrations this way. I think students will enjoy this book because it does rhyme and flows well in your mind as you read it.

[Annie Twohy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waddle, Waddle, Quack, Quack, Quack is a beautifully illustrated story book about a mother duck and her ducklings. This book follows their intense daily adventures including a run in with hawks, a thunderstorm, and overwhelming waves. Though suspenseful to little ones, this book is full of beautiful messages that encompass love, compassion and trust. It is also very relaxing through its poetry-filled pages, great for a winding down after recess/lunch.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another sweet entry in Sylvia Long's collected works, as a little duckling family heads out to enjoy their day and one of them gets separated and has an adventure. Beautifully illustrated in a style reminiscent of some of the more recent books in her nature series (such as An Egg is Quiet and A Nest is Noisy), which I also highly recommend for animal and art lovers alike.

[Vanita Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five ducklings hatch from five eggs and set out with their mother to explore the world. One duckling, though, gets lost and the lost duckling searches for his family. This is a great book for kids because it introduces subtraction and addition. It also introduces rhythm and alliteration.

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 4 out of 5]

five little ducklings hatch from their eggs and follow Mama to the lakeside for a swim. One gets left behind but eventually finds Mama and the others and they all return home safe and sound and and settle into the nest to sleep.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elliot loves books about ducklings losing their mamas (Have You Seen My Duckling is also a winner)... should I be nervous? 🤣 This is a fun one with beautiful illustrations by Sylvia Long (a favorite).

* library book. Read at 21 and 28 months

[Roseanne Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, fun rhythmic verse. Wonderful for parents with toddlers.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

One little duckling gets separated from the rest of the family while out exploring.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little story. I was looking for non-anthropomorphic books and this was good until the end when the mother and ducklings started speaking. Still, I liked it.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhythmic text, cute illustrations.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story, rhyme technique and illustrations.