Dr. Duck

From morning until night Dr. Duck takes care of all the animals when they are ill by visiting them in his big red van, but who will take care of him when the good doctor gets sick?

PreSchool-Grade 1-Dr. Duck is a stout, middle-aged country doctor who takes care of the local domestic and wild animals-a rabbit with measles, a sheep with the flu, and other assorted creatures-needing medicine, stitches, and vaccinations. Inevitably, the good doctor gets sick himself, whereupon his grateful patients all help to nurse him back to health. The rhyming text is a little too long and often uninspired: "The chicken clucked,/And Mrs. Mouse said,/'Get a soft pillow/To put under his head.'" Clearly, what comes around goes around in this story, and many children will enjoy that message, along with the lively art. Comical watercolor-and-ink illustrations depict the anthropomorphic animals in various poses of woe (sick or worried about Dr. Duck) and good cheer (cured or rejoicing in the doctor's recovery). A pleasant enough read-aloud, but probably not one that will make repeated house calls.
Tana Elias, Meadowridge Branch Library, Madison, WI
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This jolly picture book should prove the perfect elixir for young readers with a case of doctor-itis. Driving his big red van, Dr. Duck makes forest-, barnyard- and pasture-calls to treat his menagerie of patients, prescribing such remedies as "Cough syrup for a sheep/ Who had a bad flu/ Pink pills for a cow/ Too hoarse to moo" (dialogue balloons within the art show the duck telling the sheep, "This will do for the flu" and reassuring the cow, "Take two and you'll moo!"). But when Dr. Duck finds himself laid up with a terrible fever, who will care for him? Luckily his grateful patients come to the rescue and Dr. Duck is soon fit as a fiddle. In jaunty and sweet-natured rhymes, Ehrlich (who appears to be Harriet Ziefert, writing under a pseudonym) clearly expresses the rewards Dr. Duck reaps in his caring profession. Rader's (Pete's Chicken) spry and sunny watercolors capture a compassionate and friendly animal community at its best. Satisfied kids will soon attest that Dr. Duck is no quack. Ages 3-6. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dr. Duck takes to his van each morning to make the rounds of his woodland constituency. There are rabbits and weasels and beavers in need of ministering, a moose requires stitches, a mouse has a fever. Dr. Duck needs to dispense ``Cough syrup for a sheep / Who had a bad flu. / Pink pills for a cow / Too hoarse to moo.'' But when good Dr. Duck returns to his house at the end of his day, he feels a cold of his own coming on. Who should come to his succor but his patients, some on the hysterical side (the skunks are afraid he is going to die), but most ready to practice upon the doctor his own brand of tender care. ``The puppy brought juice. / The moose brought tea. / The weasels tucked him in / As snug as he could be.'' For those who have never experienced the protectorship of a doctor's house call, this is a good introduction, and Rader's Dr. Duck conveys the right blend of avuncularity and doctoring authority. Thank you, Dr. Duck. (Picture book. 3-6)-- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.