Little Quack's New Friend

Little Quack

by Lauren Thompson, Derek Anderson (Illustrator)

Widdle, Waddle, Piddle, Puddle, and Little Quack think there's nothing more fun than playing with one another. But one day a new creature splunks into their pond.

HE RIBBITS, HE LEAPS, AND HE'S GREEN!

At first Little Quack is shy. But pretty soon he just might be quacking AND ribbiting a new tune: MAKING NEW FRIENDS RULES!

With rhythm and spirit, acclaimed author Lauren Thompson sails a key lesson about growing up, in Derek Anderson's splendidly illustrated pond.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Plays

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 10, 2006

Reviews

[Allie Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good storyline and message. This book does such a good job of teaching people to accept others even if they are different, it’s okay. A good book to read to a class to show everyone can play together and have fun.

[Andrea Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Thomas
11/19/2017
Text to Teaching

This book is a good book for children to learn how to accept other students as they are. A game in which I would play with the students will be to have the students find a partner in the classroom and they will have a list of questions to ask their partner the questions so that they will get to know each other a little better. Then when they are finished with asking their partner all the questions then they will have to draw a picture of that student and write beside the picture what they had learned about that student

[Taylor Lubinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was for children ages 2-4 and I really enjoyed reading this one. In it there were five little ducklings who were all brothers and sisters and they loved to play together. One day a frog named Little Frog wanted to come and play with them but all of the brothers and sisters said no because he was a frog and that made him different than them. Little Quack however did not care that Little Frog was different than him and he just wanted to play so the two of them began to play together. As they were playing the other brothers saw them having fun and one by one they all started to join in. By the end of it they were all playing together and the other ducklings apologize to Little Frog for not allowing him to play earlier and they all became really good friends. I think that this is a good book for children to read because it teaches them that it is okay to be different and that it is okay to be friends with someone who is different from you which I think is good to teach children at a young age. Little Quack teaches them to be accepting of all kinds of different animals regardless of their differences. The pictures in this book were so brightly colored that I was captivated by them each time I turned the page.

[The Christian School Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little Quack doesn't judge critters based on how they look on the outside. He knows that a good friend comes from the heart. So when a frog hops by and wants to play; Little Quack quickly accepts the invitation.
As he and Little Ribbit have fun despite all their differences, Little Quacks siblings learn an important lesson from their little brother's example of kindness and acceptance. And they too realize that Little Ribbit is wonderful in his own unique way.

My Opinion: Love this story and its message!
Theme/Topics: Ducks, Frogs, Friendship, Acceptance, Kindness, etc
Clean or Inappropriate: Clean
Age Group: Pre-K4 and Pre-K3
Kids Response: Good. They liked it.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little quack has great adventures as he explores his world for the first times and many of the adventures are about this little duck coming into contact with something for the first time. A great little series that is wonderfully illustrated. The little duck is fully animated with a Hugh range of facial expressions.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 3-4 year olds loved this book. There were sounds for them to repeat. We discussed how the characters were feeling. I related this book to their lives because we recently got some new friends who are different from most of the children, just like the frog was different from the ducklings. I told them that our new friends would probably be very happy if we asked them to play with us.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable little story with many layers - counting ducks (and friends!), lots of sounds to make, and lessons on inclusion and diversity, all without being too preachy.

Adorable illustrations, as always with Little Quack!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An energetic friendship story with a gentle message about appreciating differences. Also this is a useful picture book to add to a preschool counting unit.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful, as always!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Little Ribbit shows up to play, only Little Quack is willing to play with him. But when the other ducklings see how much fun they are having, one by one they join the fun.

Cute

[Heather Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

lily summer reading 2018, board book, ducks, frogs,

[Jc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes we meet new friends quite unexpectedly.

[Neslihan Karadayı · Rating 4 out of 5]

Küçük Vak Vak Yeni Arkadaş kitabını çok sevdik. Farklılıklara saygı göstermeyi. Farklı olan kişileri de sevebileceğimizi anlatan çok sıcak arkadaşlık öyküsü.

[Sunni Berbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute message. Would be good to have an open discussion about including others in activities and making sure that we do not exclude people. Fun play with sounds and adjectives. Cute illustrations.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline loved it, smiling and dancing/kicking the entire time I read it to her!

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too wordy for a board book, but the story is still fun and contains a good moral. The illustrations are cute!

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story about friendship.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how this book shows, on a children's level, that 1 person without prejudice can change the prejudice of a whole community.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and easy to read

[Scarlett Mirano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty crazy at times

[Samantha]

quack-duck storytime

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story about giving new friends a chance, accessible for a preschool audience.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good little book about making friends. Not too cute and not too preachy.

[Library To-Go]

10/08/25: Play & Learn and PediaTrust - JB

[Jazzmarie Vedrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny, story with a many rhythmic sounding words, on friendship that young children will immediately love. The colors are bright and vibrant, and the children can identify with the frog being singled out and not accepted to play, by the other little ducklings because he was green, little, a frog and didn’t quack. But one little duckling wanted to play with him anyways and his name was Little Quack. Soon they hopped around, and played around in the mud, splashed in the water, until all the other ducklings wanted to join in on all the fun. The little frog, named Little Ribbit, let them join along with him and Little Quack, and soon the other ducklings didn’t care if he was green, if he was little, and that he didn’t quack like them. This lesson about friendship challenges a child to accept a new child in their neighborhood, in their classroom or anywhere, regardless of how different they may be to them. They may even find out that they have something in common with that new child, which may cause them to be friends.

[Erin Brockway · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows how one little duck decided to be friends with a frog even though his brothers and sisters would not be friends with him because he was different. This book shows the true meaning of friendship and how Little Quack's brothers and sisters eventually learn that having fun and playing together is more important than excluding the frog because he is different. I was most drawn into the story when Little Quack's brothers and sisters were making up excuses/reasons on why they could not play with the frog and Little Quack did not care what the frog looked like, he just wanted to play. I would recommend this book to others because it teaches a good life lesson on friendship and not judging someone based on their looks. I would use this book in my room to help teach children that it does not matter what someone looks like, they can still be your friend and you can still have fun together even though they are different than you are.

[Stephanie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was a light hearted way to bring up the theme of diversity. There is a frog who wants to become friends with five little ducks. At first, the ducks do not want to be friends with the frog, but little by little they realize that they all enjoy to play in the same ways. Even though they are different colors and different sizes, they still like the same things. I enjoyed the colors in the drawings. They were very bright and inviting.

*Little Quack is the only duck at the pond who will be friends with the new frog. Throughout the story, the other ducks realize that even though the frog looks different, all of the animals play in the same way. I thought this book was a light hearted way to bring up the theme of diversity.

[Alyssa Ruehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great way to show how little children sometimes interact. 4 ducks initially leave out a little frog, until they see him playing with the youngest duck. They eventually ask if they can join in playing, to which the frog and youngest duck immediately say, "sure!". My personal experience has involved being left out before, and everyone probably has an idea of what that might feel like. This might be great to read as a read aloud for enrichment purposes to kindergarteners. It would encourage all children to play together and to never leave someone out. On the other hand, it could teach children to be forgiving just like the frog was to the ducks. It will help teach that children should always be accepting of one another.

[Ina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Ribbit the frog finds it hard to make friends with a family of ducklings until Little Quack becomes his friend and, in doing so, helps his family see that Little Ribbit is not so different after all. As they play, little yellow duck and green frog find that they have a great deal in common and they have fun together. One by one all of Little Quack's siblings can't resist joining in the games. The text is fun to read aloud, describing the joy of play and filled with sound words like "Squashy" and "Squooshy" and the illustrations are bright and colorful - and filled with the joy of splashing in a pond and squishing in mud. Truly a lovely book about friendship.