Swim Swim Sink

by Jennifer Harney

Overview

Three tiny ducks. One straight line.
New happy flock. All feeling fine.


Until, that is, the last ducking sinks when she should swim. Let's try that again . . . and again and again. All this sinking is ruining the rhyme!


Little ones will love following the antics of these adorable ducklings, and parents will enjoy the way the book goes off the rails halfway through. Everyone will laugh at the tiny ducky's string of failures and cheer when it comes up with the best solution of all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368052764
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/21/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	887,108
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD290L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jenn Harney is the author-illustrator of Underwear!. She has also illustrated the Hazy Bloom chapter book series by Jennifer Hamburg, as well as the forthcoming picture books How to Become a Knight (in Ten Easy Lessons) by Todd Tarpley and Never Trumpet with a Crumpet by Amy Gibson. Jenn lives in Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband, her daughter, a corgi named Steve, and the ghost of the oldest living goldfish in North America. Follow her on Twitter @jennharknee.

Editorial Reviews

10/28/2019

What begins as a simple rhyming picture book by Harney (Underwear!) morphs into a humorous metafictional tale about a resolute duckling’s dilemma. After “one happy duck sits down to rest./ Three tiny eggs. One twiggy nest,” three eggs hatch, producing a trio of wee ducks (an onlooker, a pink worm, grins at their appearance). Two of the fledglings immediately take to swimming, but as the title implies, the last duckling experiences some difficulty. As soon as the third begins to sink, an omniscient narrator intrudes (“Huh... I didn’t know ducks could sink. This is a problem. Ducks need to swim. AND all of this sinking is ruining the rhyme”), adding a meta layer to the narrative. With the gentle companionship of the worm, the duckling approaches her predicament from various angles (a running start, orange water wings, and lengthy stilts among them) before constructing a creative solution that allows the duck to float comfortably. Expressive digital illustrations, bright orange feet, and dramatic typography against a mellow aqua background mark this charming celebration of perseverance and problem-solving skills. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

PRAISE FOR UNDERWEAR!

"A 'Who's on First' sketch featuring underwear. The cub's unbridled enthusiasm and vibrant imagination will keep kids in stitches. Harney's digital illustrations keep the focus on the bears by using monochrome colors for all but the salient details. Facial features and body language are spot-on, and the rollicking rhymes are the icing on the cake. This will be a riotous hit wherever it's shared, though be prepared to see underwear worn in lots of different ways."— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the Publisher

12/01/2019

PreS-Gr 1—Three tiny eggs crack open to the rhythmic "Quack" of three little ducks. "Three tiny ducks in one straight line. New, happy flock. All feeling fine." But all is not fine when the ducklings follow their Mama into the water; the last little one sinks (not swims) once…twice…again and again. "All of this sinking is ruining the rhyme." Not to worry—the determined little one begins a series of experiments to test for duckling flotation through a variety of possibilities: a running start, water wings, enlisting the help of other pond creatures, "state-of-the-art scuba gear," stilts, and even a rip-roaring, out-of-control Jet Ski. Digital cartoon art reveals the terrified onlookers, while enlarged font and onomatopoeia put readers in the middle of the action through each failed attempt—until Duckling #3 can find a solution with a clever bit of thinking (and still save the rhyme). VERDICT Children will come up with their own suggestions and solutions for a happy duckling ending in this suggested general purchase for all libraries.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

School Library Journal

2019-09-15
Three ducklings hatch and try to follow their mother, with a watchful worm observing.

"Three tiny ducks jump right in. / SPLISH! SPLISH! SPLASH!! / Swim. Swim… // Sink." At that point the author/illustrator calls a do-over, understanding that the rhythm and logical story arc are off. The ducks try again, the third duck is again unsuccessful, and the worm comments with a quizzical look on its face: "Huh...I didn't know ducks could sink. This is a problem. Ducks need to swim." The narrator laments: "AND all of this sinking is ruining the rhyme." Following this, the sinking duck uses an array of humorous strategies to achieve its goal, winsomely depicted in the bold, firmly outlined illustrations, with their lovely aqueous blue water and white, yellow, and orange ducks. Some of the solutions are ingenious: "Stilts to stay high and dry?" "State-of-the-art scuba gear?" "A Jet Ski" motors the duck along in one of the more exciting pictures, full of froth shaking up fish in the wake left behind by the machine. But none of these ploys works until the worm and the duck create a pirate sailing ship out of the duckling's cracked eggshell. Maybe this will work for the youngest pirate fans—but as the narrator feared, it makes for a pretty flat arc.

A duck turns into a pirate, but not much adventure happens. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews