Reviews for Webster J. Duck
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Webster J. Duck emerges from his egg a beguiling, web-footed, and fuzzyheaded yellow duckling who has not yet seen his mother. Mother Duck seems to be nowhere in sight. When Webster sets off to find her, he meets in turn a dog, a sheep, and a cow, or, as he thinks of them, a Duck with a Waggly Tail, a Big Woolly Duck, and a Bigger Big Duck. They offer barks and baas and moos to his questioning "quack-quack?," but the newly hatched Webster, unlike his literary antecedents, has his wits about him. He knows that these other creatures could not be his mother: "My mother would go ?quack-quack' like me!" But where is she? Poor Webster is soon in tears, and though the larger animals try to help by calling for the mother duck in their own languages, Webster is the very picture of a duckling in despair. Mother Duck appears at last, and Webster swims off with her. Gentle watercolor and pencil paintings suffuse the meadow and Webster's reedy birthplace on the bank of the lake with the warmth of a summer day. The illustrations go right to the edge of the page, and the text, in a clear, agreeable, good-sized font, is beautifully laid out, a complement to the pictures-giving a classic, harmonious look to the overall result. Pair this with Waddell's equally reassuring Owl Babies (1996) for comfort night and day. Simple, sweetly humorous, and just ducky. (Picture book. 2-5)
Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
After hatching, Webster J. Duck searches in vain for his mother. While he meets several animals he thinks might be his mother, not one answers him with a ""quack-quack,"" and he's in tears by the time Mother Duck arrives. While Webster's pitiful solo state and the joyous reunion are sentimental, the book features expressive illustrations with spring colors and appealing close-ups of the animals. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
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
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
PreS-Gr 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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
