Ducks Away!

Ducks Away! introduces readers to a mother duck with five little ducklings who begin falling one by one into the river below. At first Mother Duck is distressed and doesn’t know whether to stay with the ducklings on the bridge or fetch the ones who have fallen. But once all the ducklings are in the water, they convince her that joining them will be a grand adventure.

The story employs repetition to help young readers learn to count. First, the ducklings join their mother one by one, and the book counts up to five. Then, as the ducks begin to fall into the water, the story keeps track of how many ducks are on the bridge versus how many are in the river. Learning about numbers has never seemed so fun or so cute. The final twist of the ducklings being a bit braver than their mother, whom they must encourage to jump into the river, will likely also appeal to children.

The artwork is simple but eye-catching, using bright yellows, oranges, and blues to focus on the ducks and their adventure in the river. A lovely book for young readers.