Mother duck waddles over the bridge with her little brood following behind her. Before they all make it safely across the bridge, a sudden gust of wind picks up one of the ducklings and it falls into the river.
Mother get's into a flap about the situation
'What should I do?
Where should I go,
with four on the bridge
and one below!'
While mother duck is trying to decide what to do, a second duckling falls into the river. Before she can make a decision, the other inquisitive little ducks have peeked over the edge and have fallen into the river too. Now that all of the ducklings are on the river, mother duck's decision of what she should do is very clear.
Fox has beautifully retold the rhyme Five Little Ducks in her story Ducks Away! and hence introduces children to the maths concepts of counting, addition and subtraction in a story format that has more language than the original rhyme.
Ducks Away! can help parents discuss the early language concepts of position; on, off, under, over, up and down. It may also be a conversation starter about decision making when things unexpectedly happen: What should I do? Where should I go?
Horacek's recognisable simple and colourful illustrations are a wonderful extension of Fox's story. I particularly like the different perspectives used in the illustrations, from close up to eye level or water level pictures and the high level view of the mother duck looking down to her ducklings on the water.
Other quacking books from the creative partnership of Fox and Horacek include; Where is the Green Sheep? and Good Night, Sleep Tight.
Title: Ducks Away!
Author: Mem Fox
Illustrator: Judy Horacek
Publisher: Scholastic Australia, $14.99
Publication Date: 1 March 2018
Format: Board Book
ISBN: 9781742994888
For ages: 2 - 5
Type: Board Books, Picture Books