Q Is for Duck: An Alphabet Guessing Game

by Mary Elting, Michael Folsom, Jack Kent

This contemporary classic, celebrating its twenty-fifth year in print, is no ordinary alphabet book. Why is “Q” for “Duck”?
Because a duck quacks, of course. Even the youngest readers will delight in the riddle-like text and lively, humorous illustrations.
Now in vivid full color for the first time, this interactive treat is sure to be enjoyed by a whole new generation of readers.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, School, Humor, Storytime, Fiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before A Is for Musk Ox and Guess Again! (both of which I've given 5 stars) there was this. Fantastic first attempt at getting kids to have a giggly time learning to make unexpected connections. It's a pity that too many of the connections here are repeated versions of what the animal says (not a spoiler, amIright? you know the score from the title?).

Otoh, it's great for educators who want to reinforce the alphabet, the skill of engaging with the text, etc. It's also a wonderful leveled reader that is likely to engage and assist any struggling child. And it really is funny; Jack Kent's illustrations fit just right.

I'm also inspired to use it as the basis for a game or as a mentor text. Sure, there's a 'right' answer given in the book. But can we come up with *other* reasons that Q could be for Duck?

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cute! I liked trying to figure out the riddles.

[Shayne Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant alphabet book which haves you relate an animal to a letter and piece why they're related together. This is a very creative book and you get such a satisfying feeling when correctly guessing what the letter is for. The book opens with A is for zoo, then asks the reader why? Turning the page we find that A stands for zoo because animals live in the zoo. The book does this for every letter of the alphabet and it really does feel like a game, a very unique experience.

[Susan ...relish every word!!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ooooooh my students are soooooo going to live this book!!!

[Mama Bibliosoph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me begin by bragging that Harry asked his first why-question last week! I nearly fell over. And I will not hesitate in crediting this book with being a part of that.

I specifically bought Q is for Duck because I wanted to try to teach why. After flipping through it, I realized Harry had the necessary prerequisites for this book to be useful. But there are a lot of prerequisites, and my other son Luke isn't nearly ready to read this one yet.

I think that first a child needs to have mastered the idea that letters begin words like "D is for duck." Then, the child has to be able to actively point out when someone does this incorrectly ("Q is for duck"). Finally, the child needs some fluency in common animal sounds and action verbs. This will allow the child to get these jokes:

Q is for Duck. Why?
Because a Duck Quacks.

or:

L is for Frog. Why?
Because a Frog Leaps.

Brilliantly the 'because' page is actually the reverse side of the 'why' page, so the child gets the opportunity to guess the reason. It's not always going to be something they are likely to figure out (N is for cat because it "naps," for example), but there are a lot of easy ones based on straightforward animal sounds and behaviors.

I'm thrilled with how quickly this book helped Harry generalize why. It's certainly a word a child will hear enough naturally, but this provides a clear structure for repetitive, errorless practice. The fact that it's a funny book sure doesn't hurt either!

****
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is from a longer blog post about great books for kids with autism who REALLY love the alphabet: http://www.lineupthebooks.com/obsesse...

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun interactive book, and a little more complex than your average ABC book. It worked really well with the kindergarten class I presented it to; I think it could probably work for kids three and older, but younger kids might be confused or frustrated. There's a pretty good mix of very easy riddles ("Q is for duck. Why? Because ducks quack!") and harder ones (for example, S is for camel because camels spit). This is definitely one I'll use again.

[Chismark96 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Q iz 4 duck iz mi fovorit boks evar. i gots it 4 mi fryends cumpleanos. weee readed it lotsa timezz and did u no dat e iz 4 whalez cuz theyy r enourmous!!! mi reevew iz da bestest bestest evar and itz mi greetest bok evar. i luv it soooooo much and i luv it and itz soooo guud and itz amzzzing and itz goott lotsa leterz in it. hapy bierthdaa 2 mi fryend!!! plz do not antagonizze mi plz. so join antagonists 2dayy!!!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute concept book, probably best for kids who understand why the "wrong" letter is being used. I may try it at the pre-k tomorrow.

[Edna Velasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awards: None

Grade Level: Preschool-3

Summary: This book explores each letter of the alphabet and each page is represent with a letter followed by a description and then a question. Which helps children connect different letter of the alphabet to objects thought vivid colors of illustrations.

Review: I love this book! I think it a fun and interactive book to read for children in any environment (classroom or home) and then have them guess why "Q is for Duck". Its a clear book that helps children understand how a letter could be related to something else that doesn't start with the same letter. Also, I like how it is repetitive and organized for each letter which encourages readers at an early age to recognize certain letters and riddles. For example, "A is for zoo" will have the child guessing how the letter is connected to the description but it is a new way to look at the alphabet and come up with their own connections.

In Class Uses: 1. After reading the book, you can ask the children to make their own page about themselves and choose a letter from their name. Ex: N is for Annie because she is nice.
2. Create a class alphabet book activity.
3. I could do a mini lesson and use examples of how to incorporate the letters of the alphabet with a description. Then I could assign each child a letter to have them illustrate it through a picture and write the letter and description.

[Monica Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elting, Mary & Folsom, Michael. Q is for Duck (1980). This book goes beyond teaching a letter that matches with a word. Some might wonder why, Q is for Duck, well everyone that reads this book will be on an alphabet guessing adventure. This book isn’t the ordinary alphabet book that reads A is for Apple. It goes through the entire alphabet having the reader’s guessing why A is for Zoo, B is for Dog, etc. This book is exciting to read and children will enjoy playing a guessing game as they learn; however, I wouldn’t read it to a child that is at the beginning stages of learning the alphabet. They would get confused on why A is for Zoo and B is for Dog. I feel that this book might confuse English language learners as well. By all means, this book would be great for students who have mastered the alphabets because they get to go beyond and guess why A can actually be for Zoo. This book offers children to think beyond what they think they know and it also allows them to use their prior knowledge and their imagination. The pictures in the book go along with the text. Each page offers a colorful image that takes up the entire page. The illustrations bring the book to life. Target audience: ages 4-6.

[Claudia Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q is for Duck is a cute book about the alphabet and animals. I think the book is really cute and helps teach kids things about animals while using the alphabet. But, for a kid to be able to fully use this book to learn, I think they need to already understand the alphabet. If you use this book to teach the alphabet, I think it would confuse the kid. One line from the book is “Q is for Duck. Why? Because a Duck Quacks.” I think this would confuse kids learning the alphabet because they might just remember that Q is for duck, they might think duck starts with Q. But this book would be great to help kids learn what sound animals make or other animal characteristics. I also like how the book continuously asks “Why?”. Kids always ask why and try to learn new things. Reading this book would help reinforce that “Why?”, it will help kids continue to ask questions and learn. I think the illustrations are really cute and detailed. It allows for the kids to really look at the pictures and find new things each time they read.

[Charlotte S · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute book for little ones that is sure to keep them entertained and thinking throughout the whole thing. The book starts out asking 'A is for Zoo. Why? Because Animals live in the Zoo.' It continues like this, making you think why would a certain letter be for a certain animal or object. It's a very fun book and the illustrations are great! They're so fun!
Follow @bronteandwilder on Instagram for more fun book recommendations!

[Miss Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I grew-up on reading and being read Jack Kent books, I am not a real fan of this book.
Though the concept of learning the Alphabet as a guessing game is a neat idea, I feel it may just be too confusing for kids. That being said, I love Jack Kent's illustrations and his unique views and morals he portrays in his books.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fun guessing game alphabet book provides context clues so the child can guess beyond what is shown on the page. For instance, the child can guess the animal sound that begins with that particular letter rather than what letter the animal's name starts with. Some of the clues were a little tricky but some preschoolers could guess some of the answers.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very fun book to read with anybody that is a THINKER. There is a clue given for every letter of the alphabet for something that has to do with animals. Very fun to read with younger students.

[Deana Metzke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book to read with your kids or young students. You can read more about my experience reading this with my children here: https://raisingreaders.site/2018/11/1...

[Kariana Reads Kids' Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me: "Wow X was such a cop-out"

Also me: *cannot think of anything better*

I imagine this would be so fun to read to your class or children! So many arguments would ensue! It would be hilarious!

[Shanteria Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is great for inference! Although, it could be confusing for the students who do not yet have a solid grasp on letter i.d. and sounds, it is a cute and humorous book for alphabet.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 An exceedingly clever alphabet and reading book that introduces memory and logic into the typical "A is for Animal" repetitiveness by mostly focusing on each animal's most notable action.

[Raven Cleveland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book relates letters of the alphabet to animal names.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read that I picked up at a used book store. It was easy to guess the logic behind most of the pairings, but some were more clever than others.

[Syntha Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but they cheated for x

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute play on an alphabet book. My kids enjoyed trying to guess what the letter association was.

[Catherine]

A BIG hit with the First grade crowd. They feel smart guessing answers to the riddles, and are amused by the riddles they don't figure out easily.

[Lillian Slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, but do children’s books get any cuter than this??

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute such a delightful little book. I loved reading it with the kids.

[Nina]

This was a very fun and unique way of reading the alphabet. The illistrations and colors were great and kept me entertained.

[J G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made my 6 year old and I laugh together as we worked to solve each riddle. He often solved it faster than me!

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

(read aloud by himself at 4yo, no words missed)