Snowtime

Dibble and Dabble, two ducks, try to find some place warm during a snowstorm.

PreSchool-K-- Dibble and Dabble, two white ducks, are visiting with their friend Rabbit when snowflakes begin to fall, and he disappears into his burrow underground. Two other friends the ducks meet along the way also decide that it is much too cold to stand and chat, and they head for warmer spots in which to snuggle. The snowstorm develops into a blinding blizzard, with Dibble and Dabble hopelessly lost. As darkness falls, they find a spot in which to nestle down and get comfortable once again. The exciting text and enticing illustrations will keep listeners involved. The placement of the flowing, uncomplicated, and anticipatory text on one page and its complementary folk-style illustration on the other gives the book a clean, cheerful appearance. A great bonus is the ingenious way in which children will learn about where some animals go in the winter. They will delight in the suspenseful story, and they will shudder with the ducks as they find their way through the storm to final warmth in a surprising place. Teachers of the very young will want this for thematic units. --Mary Lou Budd, Milford South Elementary School, OH
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Dibble and Dabble, introduced in an eponymously titled book (1990), return in a second simple story. It's starting to snow, and while other animals retreat to their homes, nests, and burrows, the two ducks explore the woods and fields, eventually snuggling into a basket that carries them onstage for an unexpected starring role in a neighborhood pantomime of Red Riding Hood. The slight story lacks structure, but the energetically composed paintings of the ducks in the snow are vibrant and amusing. (Picture book. 2-6) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.