What do you think?
Rate this book
I Can Read: Level 3
Daniel's Duck: A Gentle Tale About Feelings, Craftsmanship, and Finding Joy for Children (Ages 4-8)
Daniel is hurt when others laugh at his wood carving, until he learns that giving people pleasure takes a very special gift. ‘Good, warm feelings result from reading this gentle tale set in rural Tennessee during pioneer days.' 'CS. ‘A lovely book on all counts.' 'NYT. Notable Children's Books of 1979 (ALA)
64 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1979
6 people are currently reading
379 people want to read
About the author
Clyde Robert Bulla
103 books99 followersBorn to be a Writer
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!”
First Stories
Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it.
The Difficult Years
In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column.
Success!
A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books.
About The Chalk Box Kid
“When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 4, 2017
Bravo. Sweet, but not sappy, and believable. There should be more leveled readers like this, full-fledged stories that are also historical fiction, or family fiction... there are a lot of friendship series (probably emulating Frog & Toad) and most are great, but beginning readers need variety, too.
September 18, 2021
A beginning reader story that qualifies as historical fiction. Daniel is determined to carve a duck, even though his older brother Jeff tells him he is not old enough. Will Daniel succeed?
March 18, 2019
Daniel's pioneer family is a simple one with simple purposes, living in the mountains of Tennessee. Their dress is plain and their house nothing extraordinary, but built with a crackling fireplace and sturdy walls to protect them from the harshness of the elements. On the many long, cold nights of winter, shacked up only with one's older brother and parents, a pioneer boy has to learn to entertain himself well, with whatever is available to him. This is how young Daniel comes upon the art of woodcarving, striving to emulate his older brother, Jeff, as he prepares for the woodcarving show at the spring fair after winter's final assault has faded.
Both boys have a sterling example to look to in reclusive woodcarving master Henry Pettigrew, a local legend capable of working such magic with a block of wood as to take away the breath of all who come from near and far to see his wondrous exhibits each year at the state fair. No man can outdo Henry Pettigrew's artistic woodcarving, certainly no man near enough for Daniel or his brother to have heard of him. As Daniel curiously watches over Jeff's shoulder while his brother diligently carves away at his project for the spring fair, he decides he wants part of the action, too, and settles on a duck as the animal he would like to carve. Approaching the sublime skills of a Henry Pettigrew, or even a relative novice such as Jeff, is a tough task for a young boy, but Daniel goes to it unswervingly, devoting his time and energy to his block of wood throughout the winter as he patiently searches for the duck within.
The duck Daniel finds there is slightly unusual, its head cocked at an unexpected angle against its body, but Daniel shrugs off the criticism Jeff levels at his artwork. The duck is his, exactly how he envisioned and planned it, and Daniel could hardly be more proud of what he has created. When he brings it to show at the spring fair along with Jeff's carving, Daniel is overwhelmed by the pleasant excesses of town life, which he and his family rarely experience, living as far away as they do in the mountains. But when he happens upon the display given his simple wooden duck, he sees and hears a response much different from what he anticipated, much less respectful than the pride he has in his own little creation would hope for. His dreams for artistic reverence in shambles, Daniel snatches the tiny wooden figure and runs off through the laughing crowd, wanting only to depart the multitudes and endure his shame alone.
Daniel hasn't counted on one set of eyes in particular observing the finished piece Daniel submitted to the spring fair, however. Few are they whose words could convince Daniel of his duck's worth now, but he may just find himself talking with one of those few. A passionate boy's artistic vision is always going to be highly sensitive, flaring to anger should the totality of his vision be mocked by outsiders who don't understand; but admiration, adoration and respect for the fruit of one's creativity come in many different ways, not all of them immediately apparent to an artist so eagerly hoping for a certain response. With his anger abated enough to allow him clearer insight into what happened, Daniel sees that his hopes for the work of art he submitted may have been fulfilled to exactly the heights he aspired to attain. The little wooden duck into which he poured his heart and soul just might be as revered and admired as he ever could have dreamed.
When one holds a personal artistic achievement like Daniel's so close to one's heart, feeling protective of it and having such pride in the accomplishment, the balance of emotions can shift quickly and devastatingly. One builds a glass house without realizing the implications of the fragile structure as it is being erected, refusing to think about how easily the transparent panes could be smashed or cracked. That's bound to happen eventually, and if the house is the only protection for one's greatest achievement, it can feel like all has been lost. But a home is never only about its walls; it's about what one has chosen to contain within them, the artistic accomplishment itself rather than the walls put up to guard it from intruders. The glass walls can shatter and and the building's frame crumble to the earth, but one's artistic masterpiece is still there and intact, in spite of the stones that have been hurled. Yet sometimes it takes a person with experience making and loving one's own artwork to come along and deliver a reminder that all is not lost, that just because plans for improvement and accolade haven't proceeded perfectly is no reason to give up the dream. The duck is still beautiful even if the whole world laughs. The young woodcarver's talent is still just as marvelous, just as worth focusing on and honing for next year's spring fair and beyond, even if the possessor of the talent has lost sight of that fact temporarily. Progress will eventually recommence no matter the frustration felt when it eludes the passionate young artist, and sooner than he knows he will return to create something else, perhaps more beautiful than anything he ever made before. And the world will watch in wonder as he does.
Word for word, not many authors do it better than Clyde Robert Bulla. His understanding of early readers is profound, his respect for their feelings far in advance of most of his contemporaries. A book like Daniel's Duck takes such a short time to read, but stays with one long afterward, offering timely reminders on a variety of subjects one is likely to encounter every day in our world. If only Clyde Robert Bulla could have lived and written for kids forever; we sure could have used him around for that long. I would give Daniel's Duck two and a half stars and my fond recommendation. It is a book to cherish.
Both boys have a sterling example to look to in reclusive woodcarving master Henry Pettigrew, a local legend capable of working such magic with a block of wood as to take away the breath of all who come from near and far to see his wondrous exhibits each year at the state fair. No man can outdo Henry Pettigrew's artistic woodcarving, certainly no man near enough for Daniel or his brother to have heard of him. As Daniel curiously watches over Jeff's shoulder while his brother diligently carves away at his project for the spring fair, he decides he wants part of the action, too, and settles on a duck as the animal he would like to carve. Approaching the sublime skills of a Henry Pettigrew, or even a relative novice such as Jeff, is a tough task for a young boy, but Daniel goes to it unswervingly, devoting his time and energy to his block of wood throughout the winter as he patiently searches for the duck within.
The duck Daniel finds there is slightly unusual, its head cocked at an unexpected angle against its body, but Daniel shrugs off the criticism Jeff levels at his artwork. The duck is his, exactly how he envisioned and planned it, and Daniel could hardly be more proud of what he has created. When he brings it to show at the spring fair along with Jeff's carving, Daniel is overwhelmed by the pleasant excesses of town life, which he and his family rarely experience, living as far away as they do in the mountains. But when he happens upon the display given his simple wooden duck, he sees and hears a response much different from what he anticipated, much less respectful than the pride he has in his own little creation would hope for. His dreams for artistic reverence in shambles, Daniel snatches the tiny wooden figure and runs off through the laughing crowd, wanting only to depart the multitudes and endure his shame alone.
Daniel hasn't counted on one set of eyes in particular observing the finished piece Daniel submitted to the spring fair, however. Few are they whose words could convince Daniel of his duck's worth now, but he may just find himself talking with one of those few. A passionate boy's artistic vision is always going to be highly sensitive, flaring to anger should the totality of his vision be mocked by outsiders who don't understand; but admiration, adoration and respect for the fruit of one's creativity come in many different ways, not all of them immediately apparent to an artist so eagerly hoping for a certain response. With his anger abated enough to allow him clearer insight into what happened, Daniel sees that his hopes for the work of art he submitted may have been fulfilled to exactly the heights he aspired to attain. The little wooden duck into which he poured his heart and soul just might be as revered and admired as he ever could have dreamed.
When one holds a personal artistic achievement like Daniel's so close to one's heart, feeling protective of it and having such pride in the accomplishment, the balance of emotions can shift quickly and devastatingly. One builds a glass house without realizing the implications of the fragile structure as it is being erected, refusing to think about how easily the transparent panes could be smashed or cracked. That's bound to happen eventually, and if the house is the only protection for one's greatest achievement, it can feel like all has been lost. But a home is never only about its walls; it's about what one has chosen to contain within them, the artistic accomplishment itself rather than the walls put up to guard it from intruders. The glass walls can shatter and and the building's frame crumble to the earth, but one's artistic masterpiece is still there and intact, in spite of the stones that have been hurled. Yet sometimes it takes a person with experience making and loving one's own artwork to come along and deliver a reminder that all is not lost, that just because plans for improvement and accolade haven't proceeded perfectly is no reason to give up the dream. The duck is still beautiful even if the whole world laughs. The young woodcarver's talent is still just as marvelous, just as worth focusing on and honing for next year's spring fair and beyond, even if the possessor of the talent has lost sight of that fact temporarily. Progress will eventually recommence no matter the frustration felt when it eludes the passionate young artist, and sooner than he knows he will return to create something else, perhaps more beautiful than anything he ever made before. And the world will watch in wonder as he does.
Word for word, not many authors do it better than Clyde Robert Bulla. His understanding of early readers is profound, his respect for their feelings far in advance of most of his contemporaries. A book like Daniel's Duck takes such a short time to read, but stays with one long afterward, offering timely reminders on a variety of subjects one is likely to encounter every day in our world. If only Clyde Robert Bulla could have lived and written for kids forever; we sure could have used him around for that long. I would give Daniel's Duck two and a half stars and my fond recommendation. It is a book to cherish.
May 15, 2020
2* art
3* story
Although a quiet story, Squirt liked it because he has been learning to whittle in Scouts, and the idea that he might be able to carve animals out of wood interested him.
3* story
Although a quiet story, Squirt liked it because he has been learning to whittle in Scouts, and the idea that he might be able to carve animals out of wood interested him.
March 16, 2012
This is a gentle story, and I think it works well as a beginning reader. I like the overall "point" of the book, too--to be content with your own artistic creation even if others don't seem to like it as much. And, I loved how much time these people poured into their handiwork; we could definitely learn a thing or two about THAT in our rush rush society.
May 1, 2023
This was a very enjoyable book about two brothers who live in the country in Tennessee who both admire woodcarvings by a famous woodcarver and want to become master craftsmen of their own one day. Daniel is younger and tries his best to carve a duck for the county fair. It takes a long time and at the fair his wood duck is laughed at, causing Daniel to take it back and run off in embarrassment, only to run into the famous woodcarver himself who has a few words of advice for the young boy. This was an old-fashioned tale about not giving up and that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and supporting young people even if they see and do and see things differently. My rating - 4/5
December 8, 2020
Daniels Duck is the perfect historical fiction, early reader. I recommend this novel for young kids who are very eager to learn more about the pioneer days. Daniel's Duck is about a young boy whose lovers tot make wood carvings. He learns in the novel how people feel good after receiving gifts that are homemade. After realizing this, Daniel starts creating gifts for people in the pioneer days in Tennessee.
August 12, 2019
Really enjoyed the illustrations. Nice story about not always basing how you feel about something you create on other people's reactions. Also about finding a mentor who knows the craft you are learning.
June 10, 2018
Sometimes just the desire to do something helps us make it possible.
October 30, 2018
This was a sweet little story. I'm afraid it lost a little bit in the translation to audiobook, since illustrations would really have helped to flesh certain aspects out. Still very cute.
January 1, 2023
Level 3 "I Can Read" book.
Wood carving.
Kindness.
Wood carving.
Kindness.
Read
January 19, 2023A sweet and gentle story. :-)
July 2, 2023
It left tears in my eyes!
January 26, 2024
I really enjoyed this gentle story about a boy who puts effort into a task and makes a new friend in the process.
February 22, 2024
Great story!
December 4, 2013
Clyde Robert Bulla is one of my absolute favourite authors for beginning readers. He manages to tell well-developed emotional stories while using a limited, simple vocabulary. Daniel's Duck is one of his later books and he still was writing at the same level of excellence. Set in the frontier days, a very simple quiet story of the long nights at home during the winter and the looking forward to the spring fair. Art is a common theme in many of Bulla's books and here the focus is on the almost lost art of woodcarving. The story concentrates on patience, believing in yourself against all odds and the value of a gift over a profit. Joan Sandin is a prolific illustrator and her illustrations are beautiful, reminiscent of the style of the greats from the '50s and '60s she evokes the time period with ease using a very simple colour palette. One of the best books in this series, especially when looking for historical titles. This one is a keeper on my shelves.
December 11, 2012
Difficult words include:
Laughing
Beautiful
Coonskin
Moccasins
Knife
Tennessee
Story: Engaging, with a happy ending. Not a clear "moral of the story" but one could draw several teaching points from the book (such as not getting discouraged by other people's opinions.)
Illustrations: We liked them (traditional water color) because they differed from the bright computer animated pages of other books. Not that we don't like that. It is just nice to have a change.
Laughing
Beautiful
Coonskin
Moccasins
Knife
Tennessee
Story: Engaging, with a happy ending. Not a clear "moral of the story" but one could draw several teaching points from the book (such as not getting discouraged by other people's opinions.)
Illustrations: We liked them (traditional water color) because they differed from the bright computer animated pages of other books. Not that we don't like that. It is just nice to have a change.
September 3, 2013
I'm not kidding; I cried the first time I read it. This was such a sweet story. I love how the family worked around a fire in the winter. Their sweet cabin life looked so simple and happy. You can really imagine what a big deal it would be to travel to the spring fair each year. It's a very inspiring story that has many valuable points of view.
May 7, 2021
Some teachable moments from this book:
-kindness, the man helps Daniel feel better when he thinks people are making fun of his duck
-the difference between laughing AT something and laughing because it makes you happy
-working hard on a project
I really liked this one. It is a good book to have as part of a children's collection at home
-kindness, the man helps Daniel feel better when he thinks people are making fun of his duck
-the difference between laughing AT something and laughing because it makes you happy
-working hard on a project
I really liked this one. It is a good book to have as part of a children's collection at home
November 5, 2010
A boy makes his first wood carving, a duck. He enters it into the spring fair. When he gets to the fair, people are laughing at it. He is very disappointed but a master wood carver explains to him that the people are laughing at it because they like it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2015
An easier book, but a sweet, well-developed story about a boy trying a new skill, feeling proud of his work, then like he's not good enough. The warm fuzzies abound when he gets a boost. Carolyn and I enjoyed reading it together. I want to read more Clyde Bulla books.
April 19, 2015
Had this one for a while--read it to my older boys. When I reread to the little guys tonight I had forgotten Daniel's struggle. They really responded to this element and tuned in extra close to how it worked out.
March 9, 2020
Part of my Sonlight challenge. A sweet story about a young boy with a budding interest in carving set in a past time in Tennessee with a great message. Sonlight Grade 2 reader
May 3, 2009
A level 3 chapter book that was published in 1979. Easy to read and has a nice message to it.
March 10, 2009
This is a great story for those new readers to read and talk about. I used it in Speech Language at MGS to have those at the reading level of speech read to me.
August 19, 2009
Mommy says: A short chapter book.
May 1, 2024
One of my favorites from childhood, now my one of my son's favorites also.
December 29, 2012
Boys liked it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews