Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck: A Springtime Book For Kids

by Lisa Westberg Peters, Sam Williams (Illustrator)

What's a cold little duck to do when she races the spring thaw to her home pond and wins? She could shiver, slip, slide, and shake--or think lovely, warm thoughts until nature comes through and brings the pond splashing and quacking to life once again. Lisa Westberg Peters and Sam Williams are inspired harbingers of spring in this irresistible story that's also an unrivaled read-aloud featuring enchanting rhyme and repetition and absolutely winsome illustrations of the cold (but brave!) little duck. Children's Pick of the Lists 2000(ABA) 2001 Notable Children's Books (ALA)

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2000

About the author

Lisa Westberg Peters is a children's author and poet from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her books often have a scientific focus.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely adorable! I loved the cute-as-a-button illustrations and the fun word repetitions like the little duck remembering tender blades of grass (snack! snack! snack!) Sweet story recommended for younger readers. (Story focuses on the change in seasons from winter to spring.)

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though this title is 13 years old, I enjoyed it alot. Very basic story of the little duck arriving early to a frozen pond and as she thinks about spring the signs of it begin and soon she is joined by other ducks. Interestingly the limited text is in very large print and each page ends with a word that is repeated three times, which is very similiar to the sound of a duck, most times ducks repeat their sound three times. Charming.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh we liked this book. Little duck is so cute, and I understand how he feels, anxious for spring!

[Vincent Meyers · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck" by Lisa Westberg Peters is a story about a little duck and the difficult time it endures while waiting upon the arrival of spring. The story begins with the little duck landing on a frozen winter pond one miserable day. Soon the poor little duck's feet became frozen to the ice, and she was trapped. She began shivering and shaking, knowing a decision must be made soon. Thus, she decided to stick her head into her feathers and think of spring. She thought of bubbly streams, wiggly worms, and other aspects of spring that she looked forward to. When a flock of ducks flew by, the little duck saw that spring was in the air and became very excited. The other ducks flew down and splashed in the open water. In closing, the little duck happily dove into spring to join the other ducks to kick off the start of spring.

I enjoyed this story very much because it displayed the theme of never giving up or losing hope. In my opinion, this is an important message that all children should become familiar with at a young age. This book did a fantastic job representing this theme because when the duck returned to the pond too early for spring, she found a way to survive until spring arrived. Furthermore, I was impressed that the author always portrayed the duck with the motivation to get through the setbacks she faced without becoming upset or discouraged. Often when kids get discouraged by something they quit or give up. It is unfortunate because this happens with many children too often. This is most likely because children do not know better and simply give up when something does not go their way. Therefore, I thought it was great that the author shows that there are challenges in life, but many of the challenges can be overcome.

In addition, I recommend this story because of the unique text configuration and illustrations. The author had fun with the story when she designed the dialogue. The text was aligned in many different directions, fonts, and configurations. For example, some pages of the text had bolded, black, bulky font while other parts of the text were highlighted in different colors of font. For example, throughout the story red, blue, green, and pink fonts were used to make some of the duck’s actions stand out to the reader. Some of the verbs that were highlighted in colorful fonts to draw attention to the duck’s action were “drink, dunk, and blink”. In continuation, the illustrations were very lively and consisted of many vibrant colors representing the coming of spring. Many of the illustrations used pastel colors like soft yellows, greens, pinks, and purples to successfully show the happy side of the winter ice thawing and the warm spring weather arriving. Finally, I noticed that the images were extremely appealing because they take up the majority of the pages. With the combination of the extravagant illustrations and the exciting text design, I believe children would love this story, and I highly recommend this book to young readers.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a charming, simple story about a young duck who arrives home just a bit early for Springtime, so that her cold little feet stick to the frozen pond. When another animal admonishes her to go back, she does not but, filled with hope, she turns her thoughts toward the warm Spring until it arrives.

Peters' use of language is wonderful: her well-chosen words enrich the listener's vocabulary, and at the end of each lyrical phrase she repeats one word three times for a rhythmic, almost musical effect that will make this book popular with toddlers. Williams' watercolors capture the temperature, action and mood of each scene in an artistically vivid way that is pleasant and comforting.

The story events turn on a theme of positive thinking: it is clearly implied that the young duck's thoughts of Spring are what bring about the change in the weather, and some parents may be uncomfortable with the underlying psychological theory of positive thinking. However, this kind of thing does happen in the real world: ducks do sometimes return to their homes while the water is frozen, then wait for it to thaw. It is possible to interpret the duck's mind as being filled with hopeful expectation that Spring -- as it always does, however slow -- rather than being the mechanism by which it comes. Still, since the book is aimed at very young readers who cannot engage in discussion about causality, parents will need to decide for themselves whether this book is appropriate for their children.

[Logan Spears]

This is a great book for the younger, or begging readers. The text is very large and is located right in the illustrations. The book is a landscape style because the setting of the book is a frzen pond into spring. Using the landscape styles allows the illustrator to show more of the surroundings. He uses cartoon like animals, and I think this was a good idea because it was meant for younger readers and they will be attracted to the animals. The illustrator also uses softer lines and lighter colors so the book feels more peaceful rather than using bold lines and dark colors. The text and the illustrations go along together almost perfectly. The story could be told both through the illustrations and text.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Board Book.
Themes- changing seasons (winter/spring), migration, ducks, repetition
Classroom use: read with students as spring begins, or toward the end of a long winter, to introduce changing seasons and migratory habits of birds. Use the adjectives and verbs as examples for descriptive writing examples, then have students write their own stories or descriptions of the weather and animals they observe that season.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice spring book, did not work well in storytime though. I found I was not able to ask the children and engage them in the story as well as I can with other books.

[Emma Hendrix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read, big font children's book. A cold duck flew in too early before spring. She gets stuck to the ice so she barries her head in her wing. She thinks of all the fun memories of spring. Playing in the water, grass, and the flower buds. Then she looks up and sees her friends. Spring has come and she is unstuck. She laughs and plays in the sun.
Definitely a younger age book that has tons of potential.

[Kelly Wickham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable, simple book for small people that illustrates in big pictures and simple words, the baby duck exploring her new world. Everything is new and fresh and exciting with the coming of her first spring. And then her instincts tell her that she needs to fly off northward with the flock. It has very poetic writing in a very simple way.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book wasn't my favorite for toddlers - there are several words that I had to explain and even gloss over (miserable, brisk, crocuses). I like the repetition and rhyming, but the word choice isn't simplistic enough to work for littles.

[Katie Cat Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ducky. Spring. Rhymes.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy reader for beginning readers. Fun story and great illustrations.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute! Should work for storytime. I like the repetition in threes.

[Julia Crainshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great spring read aloud for preschoolers.

[Emily Storytime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems like a good book for a beginning reader-- large font and lots of word repetition. A bit too long and unengaging for storytime.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that makes one smile. The illustrations are delightful. A little duck arrives too early for spring and the ice is still frozen. His feet stick to the ice, so he thinks and thinks about all the beautiful things that come with spring until he can actually enjoy it.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be a good choice for story time to make all the sounds in the book

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short onomatopoeic book about a duck experiencing the coming of spring.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations are a highlight of this story of a duck who arrives at the pond too early for spring, and gets to see the change of the seasons. Lots of repeating words.

[Storytime Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

“One miserable and frozen spring a cold little Duck flow in.”
❤️ I love the artwork, the writing flows nicely, and the length was just right for the simple writing.
💫 I’m not sure how to including all the extra sounds (brr-ack brr-ack brr-ack) in the reading so I just skipped reading it 😂
📆 I would read this to a younger child at the beginning of spring when the weather is still rather cold but there are hints of grass starting to grow
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The only reason I don’t give this five stars is because it isn’t interesting enough for me to want to buy and read again and again to me kids. However, I’d definitely check it out again, especially if I was reading to a younger child or wanted a quick book that captures the simplicity of youth.

Check out StorytimeCorner.com to see our favorites grouped by time of year/theme we’d recommend reading them.

My Ranking System:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I absolutely love everything about the book and would buy it
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I love the book but there are enough “wishes” that I wouldn’t buy it but I’d definitely check it out again
⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’m glad I read it once but it is a one time read and never again
⭐️⭐️ I was bored and wish I had the time back that I spent reading it
⭐️ I really didn’t like it and would advise people NOT to read it

[Karissa Kelly]

Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck is about a little duck who came back from migrating earlier than the other ducks. Therefore, she deals with cold weather, an iced pond, and no friends. The little duck doesn't understand why the weather is so cold, why the pond is thick with ice, and why she is all alone. Until, she catches a glimpse of a v-formation in the sky. Soon, her duck friends are surrounding her. The weather warms up and the ice melts, so the little duck and her friends play in the pond.

Cold Little Duck, Duck, Duck is such a cute book. I remembering reading it when I was growing up. I've always thought the illustrations were beautifully done, and Lisa Westberg's writing is so fun because the whole story rhymes. I love that this book opens an avenue to talk about migration and v-formations or a simpler lesson on seasons changing.

I think this book would do great in a classroom for learning about seasons, migration, and ducks or you could just read it for fun. Either way I highly recommend reading this sweet story.

[Maura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story about a little baby duck who is cold, but is eagerly awaiting the arrival of spring. This has a lot of onomatopoeia (sounds as words) and is great for adjective use as well. Cute illustrations.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for storytime because of large print and repetition of some concept/sound on each page.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A favorite. Law reached for it all week.

[CML OSU]

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PET

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little duck dreams of spring, warm weather and swimming in the pond that is still frozen.

[Keva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book for story time. It's a great short story where the children can pretend that they are the cold little duck and mimmick it's actions.

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

I keep using this to have a reason to play 5 little ducks. However, despite the repetition and sounds it always seems to fall a little flat.

[Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because I feel like a cold little duck now that the weather is turning. It is a sweet story about a duck getting used to weather changes.