Keep Up, Duck!

by Ivan Bates, Rachel Bates, Ivan Bates (Illustrator)

Overview

Young listeners will echo Mama Duck’s irresistible refrain in this noisy, joyful, and bouncy read-aloud about a very clever duckling.

Mama Duck and her ducklings are swimming to the lily pond, but the smallest duck, Puck, is always at the end of the line. As paddleboats splish and splosh by, Puck falls farther behind. “Keep up, Duck!” Mama quacks. Puck looks at the nearby boats and wonders, how can he keep up? He may not swim very fast, but he is determined. Hop! Hop! Plop! Will he have the last laugh? Children will love being in on the cheeky Puck’s sneaky solutions and mimicking all the sound words and the titular catchy chorus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536209389
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	510,001
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Ivan Bates has illustrated many books for children, including There, There and Just You and Me by Sam McBratney, Do Like a Duck Does! by Judy Hindley, and Grandma Elephant’s in Charge! by Martin Jenkins. This is a special collaboration with his late wife, Rachel Bates. Ivan Bates lives in Norfolk, England.

Editorial Reviews

01/08/2024

This winning tale from Ivan Bates and late author Rachel Bates follows Puck, the littlest of Mamma Duck’s fuzzy yellow ducklings, who struggles to keep up with the rest of the brood as they head for the lily pond. When Mamma calls, slightly bedraggled Puck eagerly comes up with a shrewd solution. Assessing the human-propelled swan boats (“Splish! Splash! Swish! Swosh!”), Puck scales the side of one of the boats, vaults onto the knee of a startled passenger, atop the boat’s prow, then into the water again (“Hop! Hop! Hop! Plop!”). Now he’s caught up with his family. The next time he falls behind, kinetic watercolor and colored pencil panels by Ivan Bates (The Hide-and-Scare Bear) show him hopping from a skateboard to a passing bicycle, and next from the snout of one friendly dog to another. Though smaller than his siblings, he’s now faster than them all. Plentiful sound words enhance the panel artwork’s fizzy action as the collaborators champion creative problem-solving throughout a contemporary story in which the duckling makes his own way. Human background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Sweet watercolor and colored pencil artwork accompanies rhythmically paced prose from Ivan Bates and the late Rachel Bates. Richly illustrated spreads set the scene. . . the combination of fun sound effects and sweet visuals will keep readers entertained—especially those lucky enough to hear this tale read aloud. Lighthearted, onomatopoetic fare.
—Kirkus Reviews

This winning tale from Ivan Bates and late author Rachel Bates follows Puck, the littlest of Mamma Duck’s fuzzy yellow ducklings, who struggles to keep up with the rest of the brood as they head for the lily pond. . . . Plentiful sound words enhance the panel artwork’s fizzy action as the collaborators champion creative problem-solving throughout a contemporary story in which the duckling makes his own way.
—Publishers Weekly

For preschoolers and kindergartners, this book has the perfect pace, the right amount of suspense, and a satisfying, turnabout-is-fair-play outcome. The text is sparse and full of sound words, with delightful illustrations that convey all the action. . . Story hours will be noisy when children chime in on the last “Keep up!” and they’ll be in for rereadings, too.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

02/01/2024

PreS-K—"Keep up, Duck!" is the encouraging phrase the mother duck aims at Puck, one of seven ducklings in the boating lake where there are so many people. Small children listening to the story will instantly relate. There are so many distractions and Puck keeps getting temporarily separated from the rest of the group, but inflatable toys, bikes, scooters, and dogs are no match for the ingenious baby duck. In fact, it's a friendly hound that delivers Puck to the lily pond that was the destination all along, and he is even ahead of his family. For preschoolers and kindergartners, this book has the perfect pace, the right amount of suspense, and a satisfying, turnabout-is-fair-play outcome. The text is sparse and full of sound words, with delightful illustrations that convey all the action. VERDICT Story hours will be noisy when children chime in on the last "Keep up!" and they'll be in for rereadings, too.—Ginnie Abbott

School Library Journal

2023-12-06
Puck the duck keeps falling behind.

Mamma Duck and her little ones are swimming to the lily pond. Puck, a scruffy straggler with brown splotches on his back that differentiate him from his siblings, becomes distracted by all the wonderful sights and sounds along the way. Armed with only “downy wings and tiny feet,” Puck can’t keep up. Dazzled by pastel paddle boats, pedestrians, and playful puppies, Puck is gently scolded by Mamma to “keep up, Duck!” several times and must come up with clever ways to catch up. Ultimately, plucky Puck is appropriately puckish and with a “Hop! Hop! Hop! Plop!” finds a creative and deeply satisfying solution. Sweet watercolor and colored pencil artwork accompanies rhythmically paced prose from Ivan Bates and the late Rachel Bates. Richly illustrated spreads set the scene, and whimsical panels chop up the action, with Puck hop-hopping his way across the pages to plop back into place with the other ducks. Adorable ducklings and a sense of urgency but a distinct lack of any danger keep the stakes compelling but not concerning, and the combination of fun sound effects and sweet visuals will keep readers entertained—especially those lucky enough to hear this tale read aloud.

Lighthearted, onomatopoetic fare. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews