Jump, Little Wood Ducks Book Review

T wanted to stage the photo
for this book. This is all him!

Jump, Little Wood Ducks
Written by Marion Dane Bauer
Photography by Stan Tekiela
Published February 2016

Why we chose this book:
Serendipity, actually. If you know T personally, then you know how much he has always loved ducks. When we requested a review copy of Hidden Critters, Adventure Publications also sent us a copy of this title for review. How perfect for T! (And if you've been following us a while, you know we love Tekiela's nature books, and we also love Bauer's Halloween Forest.)

Mom's Review

The "duck squad" joined us for reading.

A humorous look at three little wood ducks who are hesitant to leave the nest.

Alongside Tekiela's photographs of wood duck babies, Bauer imagines what they may be thinking as they "look down and down and down" from the nest, to their mother and the other ducklings below. The mother encourages them gently, assuring them that they safely tumbled from their eggs (we see photographs of the hatching process), and that they can safely tumble to the ground. Each of the three refuses to jump after this. With more encouragement, including offers of delicious water bugs, the ducklings continue to staunchly refuse; "Not so very hungry," one says. Eventually the ducklings do leave the nest, but the book ends with them refusing to enter the water.

As I read the multiple refusals, I found myself slipping into the voices and tone I usually give the cat, dog, and duck who decline helping the little red hen. Perhaps it is the number of characters saying "no," perhaps it is the repetition, but upon reflection, the whole reading experience puts me in mind of The Little Red Hen. T smiled and laughed throughout, and asked for me to read it four times back to back before I made us take a break. Each of the following days this week has seen a continued desire for this book.

Back matter provides more facts about wood ducks, and answers questions about how the ducklings leap from the nest. The photographs on each page give such a close-up look at wood ducks (adults and babies) in their natural habitat.

This is such a fun and informative book. It's humorous, I had fun reading it, and T and I both learned about wood ducks, which we new nothing about before this book. (And it gave T inspiration for new games with his duckies.)

Son's Review
(Age: almost 4)

Son: They finally jumped! Let's read it again!

Mom: I could tell you were happy with all those smiles. What made you happiest?

Son: That they finally leaped!

Mom: Did you think they were gonna leap? What did you think they were going to do?

Son: Never! ... Never leap!

Mom: Which duckling is your favorite duckling?

Son: The number one duckling.

Mom: The one that said, "Our nest is beautiful," and, "Not so very hungry"?

Son: Yep!

Mom: Do you think that real ducks are scared to jump or not? Why?

Son: I think baby ducks are scared to jump. Because, because...I don't know.
(Batter matter clarifies this.)

Mom: What did you like?

Son: I like that they didn't want to jump from their nest.

Mom: What new information did you find interesting?

Son: Why do they have claws on their feet?

Mom: So they can grip what?

Son: Branches!

Mom: When is the best time to read this book?

Son: When we go to the pond because they want to be at the pond.

Playing with the "duck squad" after reading.