Such a cute rhyming story of how a duck meets friends and takes along his kazoo! We follow along the journey of a duck who is left with just a kazoo in his empty pond. He decides to leave to find more ducks, and when he does, he impresses them with his kazoo playing skills. He then asks them to join him back at his pond because he misses it so much. The other duck friends get excited, pack up, and follow him to his home. ( )

The story of this duck picturebook is ok in theory but falls flat in poetry. A lonely duck, his flock gone in a hurricane, sits alone in his lake playing a shiny kazoo. When winter comes, he flies away and finds a new family.

The couplets and refrain are rhythmic, "And he played a sad song on his shiny kazoo: La ditty, da ditty, zu zu." but the narrative sections of the poetry don't scan well and the word choice is poor. "So the duck packed his things and gazed at the view. 'Good-bye, my dear lake. I'll truly miss you.'"

But the pictures, oh the pictures are worth the story. They're watercolor and mixed media and the colors are marvelous. Soft, fading backgrounds, cheerful plump ducks, a shiny blue kazoo, and small humorous touches of anthropomorphism. The scenes with the other ducks are vibrant with reds and oranges, a deep green landscape as they fly, and a soft purple night. The text may be somewhat deficient, but the pictures are worth it!

Verdict: There are plenty of duck books out there with more interesting text, but I do like the illustrations in this one...

ISBN: 978-0618428540; Published February 2008 by Clarion; Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist