Webster J. Duck - Hardcover

Waddell, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0763615064 ISBN 13: 9780763615062

Publisher: Candlewick, 2001

Synopsis

A search for love and reassurance—from master storyteller Martin Waddell.

When little Webster J. Duck cracks open his egg, he's all alone. "Where's my mother?" Webster thinks, and sets off to find her. Though he meets some waggly, woolly, very friendly animals along the way, his mother is nowhere to be seen. It looks like Webster is all alone—until his new friends lend a helping hand. With delightful illustrations by David Parkins, WEBSTER J. DUCK celebrates the wonderful feeling of being found by someone you love.

About this title

About the Author

Martin Waddell is the author of many well-loved books for children, including A KITTEN CALLED MOONLIGHT; CAN'T YOU SLEEP, LITTLE BEAR? (one of four tales about Big Bear and Little Bear); FARMER DUCK; OWL BABIES; and WHO DO YOU LOVE? He says, "WEBSTER J. DUCK is a sunny story, born of long holiday with my children by a lake on the river Shannon in Ireland. We saw a nest in the reeds and a watchful cow in the mud by the lakeside. In that moment, Webster's story was born."

David Parkins is also the illustrator of AUNT NANCY AND OLD MAN TROUBLE and AUNT NANCY AND COUSIN LAZY-BONES by Phyllis Root, as well as Dick King-Smith's chapter books SOPHIE'S TOM, SOPHIE HITS SIX, SOPHIE IN THE SADDLE, SOPHIE IS SEVEN, and SOPHIE'S LUCKY.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 1-Waddell's solid pacing and concrete imagery are wasted on this hackneyed plot of a baby duck in search of his mother. Parkins uses pastel watercolor and pencil for endearing portraits of the hatchling in appealing postures and to depict friendly farm animals that assist in the successful hunt. Fine turns of phrase ("feathers were shiny with tiny duck tears") are offset by unanswered questions-children never do learn where the mother has been. Lovely springtime fare to behold, but nothing fresh or innovative.
Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The star of Waddell's (A Kitten Called Moonlight) heartwarming tale starts life "All folded up so he'd fit in the egg," but soon the plucky duck is out and about, looking for the mother who's nowhere to be seen. Astute readers will notice on the book's title page that Mother Duck is merely taking a swimming break in the water near the nest, but Webster J. Duck doesn't know that: he heads for the adjacent farm fields and quacks queries to increasingly larger "ducks" with waggly tails (a dog), woolly coats (a sheep) and even udders (a cow). Each time, he realizes that "My mother would go/ quack-quack like me!" His new friends, moved by his despair, offer up clarion calls of "BOW-WOW!" "BAA-BAA!" and "MOO-MOO-MOO-MOO!" and successfully beckon Webster's mother for a joyous first meeting. Even very young children may notice the striking similarities to the classic Are You My Mother? Parkins's (Aunt Nancy and Old Man Trouble) painterly watercolors, however, possess a magic and originality that's hard to resist: his lakeside landscape shimmers with light, and he endows his pint-sized protagonist with emotional depth. Ages 2-4. (Aug.)
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 2-6. This case of comic mistaken identity starts with a lone duck egg, from which one Webster J. Duck hatches. But where is his mother? Webster starts his quest, duck calling for his mother. But every "duck" that he meets--the "Duck with the Waggly Tail," for example, or the "Big Woolly Duck"--gives the wrong call back to him. Webster's refrain, "You're not my mother. My mother would go quack-quack like me!" grows both more comic and touching as his search continues. Finally, Webster is in a downy wet heap, crying at the edge of the lake, when he hears his mother's satisfyingly loud quack. This lovely story is rendered in watercolor and pencil; the effect is gently pastoral, and Webster is adorable. A reassuring read. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Candlewick
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0763615064
• ISBN 13: 9780763615062
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Parkins David
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32