Keep Up, Duck!:

by Ivan Bates, Rachel Bates

Young listeners will echo Mama Duck’s irresistible refrain in this noisy, joyful, and bouncy read-aloud about a very clever duckling.

Mama Duck and her ducklings are swimming to the lily pond, but the smallest duck, Puck, is always at the end of the line. As paddleboats splish and splosh by, Puck falls farther behind. “Keep up, Duck!” Mama quacks. Puck looks at the nearby boats and wonders, how can he keep up? He may not swim very fast, but he is determined. Hop! Hop! Plop! Will he have the last laugh? Children will love being in on the cheeky Puck’s sneaky solutions and mimicking all the sound words and the titular catchy chorus.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Family

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 19, 2024

About the author

Ivan Bates studied illustration at Manchester Polytechnic and has illustrated many books for children, including Just You and Me by Sam McBratney, Do Like A Duck Does! by Judy Hindley, and Five Little Ducks. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is]

Read for my toddler's bedtime. A cute story about a family of ducks going out for a swim one day. Mama duck along with brother and sister ducks swim ahead and baby duck named Puck fall behind. Puck took advantage of his surroundings and utilized it as a means to keep up. Mama duck said keep up duck and each time Puck hop on the bike or the skateboard or even the dog to get ahead. Eventually, Puck ended up arriving to the destination before the family and he got to say keep up mama! Great illustrations!

Thank you Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read and review.

[Stacie]

Little Puck is often found at the back of all the little ducks. Little Puck keeps falling behind and Mama Duck quacks, “Keep up, Duck!”. As the ducks come up to the part of the lake where people pedal with their boats, Little Puck gets distracted watching them and falls even farther behind.

Kids will have fun saying all the water sounds in the story and can “Hop” along with Little Puck as he has an idea of how to catch up with his family. Puck is back to swimming along with his family until they come alongside the path with scooters, skaters, and bikes. Little Puck gets busy watching the kids and falls behind again. Will he be able to catch up?

Little Puck teaches kids how to problem-solve while reminding them that it’s important to stay together with your group or family. Little Puck is very clever and kids will root for him to catch up with his family. Even though he isn’t the fastest in his family, he is the most determined.

The author wrote this story with his late wife after they watched a mother duck and her ducklings during a springtime walk along the river. While reading this story, I thought of a duck family that my family watched in a pond this spring. We were all worried about one of the little ducks who became separated from its family. I have to believe that little duck found a clever way to get back with its family again too.

For all the pokey kids out there who are gazing at the scenery or too busy watching other kids, this book is for you.

[Liz]

Mamma Duck and all her ducklings are paddling around. Puck is the smallest and also gets distracted easily, causing him to fall behind again and again. He gets creative in coming up with ways to catch up. It's a duck book, so yes, I'm going to like it by default. Worked well in preschool storytime.

[Karol]

Beautiful exciting illustrations carry the story of Duck keeping up with his duck family.

[Alyssa Mandell]

The illustrations are large and beautiful in this picture book. One little duck keeps falling behind and finds creative ways to catch up. I kind of felt bad for the duck that his mother didn't wait for him.

[Becky]

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG: https://bookreadingtic.com/2024/03/10... AND PLEASE FOLLOW ME, THANK YOU!

Don’t Give Up!

Little Puck is the youngest duck in his family. His feathers are still downy, and he has little feet, making it hard to swim fast. When Mamma Duck sets out for the lily pond with all the other bigger ducklings, Puck ends up swimming at the back, and gets farther and farther behind.

Mamma Duck often turns back and quacks to Puck, “Keep up, Duck!” Try as he might, Puck falls even further behind. But Puck doesn’t give up, even though he has a lot of obstacles. Instead, he comes up with many ideas to catch up. He is determined to reach his family.

This is a sweet story that will have little ones cheering Puck on, while giggling at the things he does to keep pace. Children will identify with Puck, and how hard it can be to keep up with the family. In the end, not giving up saves the day, and results in a surprise. This tender tale was written and illustrated by a husband-and-wife team, who made this picture book a treat for the eyes and ears.

Two-to-seven-year-olds will enjoy this five-star tale, leaving them with the idea to never give up!

Thank you, Candlewick Press, for providing Tickmenot with a book to review. Opinions are my own.

[Bethany]

Mama Duck and her ducklings swim around and pass amazing things to reach their pond. But Little Puck has smaller wings and feet, so he has trouble keeping up with Mama and his siblings. All the while, Mama tells him to keep up, but doesn't slow her pace. Thinking outside of the box, he uses his surroundings to help propel him forward to catch up each time they get too far ahead. It doesn't help that there are a lot of distractions to slow him down even more, but these same distractions give him the edge he needs to do as his mama asks.

KEEP UP, DUCK is a cute story that teaches children that sometimes thinking outside of the box can help them overcome challenges. While Puck is smaller than his siblings, he doesn't let it bring him down. Instead, he pulls out different tricks and hones a different skill set other than swimming. The illustrations are adorable with soft colors and lining. The text is easy enough for early readers to practice with too.


Final Verdict: Overall, this is a cute story that I would recommend to children aged four and up who love ducks and adventure. All the things Puck does brings an added humor to the story that helps hold a child's interest while making them smile.

[Sara]

Keep Up Duck!

Mamma Duck and her babies need to swim to the lily pond. Every duckling must keep up but one is far behind!

“Keep Up Duck!” Mamma Duck quacks

Little Puck has downy wings and tiny feet but he doesn’t let that stop him. He may fall far behind but he has more than one plan to catch up to everyone.

I just adore little ducklings and this was a wonderful book to share with my three year old (her first birthday was baby duck themed!). The youngest of the crew are the ones that usually take their time on excursions and I feel that I am always trying to keep all of my little ones together.

Little Puck is adorable and I love the beautiful illustrations. The pastel color palette and the sketch work is so pleasing to the eye and the details are so intricate. If you’re looking for a sweet springtime book to add to your collection this one is it!

[Linda]

In a cumulative tale, Ivan and Rachel Bass tell about little Puck, who seems always to be behind as Mamma and his sibling swim along to the lily pond. "Keep up, Duck!" quacks Mamma every time, but Puck manages to catch up in several creative ways! The illustrations are sunshine-filled, highlighting nature all around, people in swan boats, out riding bikes or skateboards, or walking dogs. It's a delightfully happy book!
Thanks to Candlewick Press for this copy!

[Alice]

4 stars
I read a digital advance copy courtesy of the publisher and Edelweiss
The duck family is swimming over to the lily pond. Little Puck is the smallest duckling and several times Mama Duck stoops to remind him to keep up! Puck cleverly finds ways to keep up without tiring himself out. The illustrations are gentle and reflect a gentle world.

[Erin Buhr]

Puck is an adorable new duck who is having trouble keeping up. His mama and siblings can swim faster. Fortunately, Puck is a brave, problem solver and he finds ways to whiz along with a little help and catch up. Kids will love the playful plot, cheeky Puck, and the familiar park setting. This cheerful picture book is an excellent one for Springtime.

[Terresa Wellborn]

"Young Puck, with downy wings and tiny feet, was falling far behind..."

"Downy" just isn't a word a lot of preschool/storytime kids know. Some nice repetition which is good for littles and language acquisition, but the illustrations and text are just not my cup of tea.

Themes: ducks, animals
Ages: preK-1st grade
Pub year: 2024

[Roben]

Mamma Duck and all her babies are going for a swim. But Puck, with his downy feathers and tiny feet, has a hard time keeping up. Mama quacks, "Keep up, Duck!" But Puck has to use his ingenuity to do that.

This is very, very cute. Kids will love Puck and also all the woofs and quacks, hops and splashes.

The flyleaf has beautiful feather illustrations!

[Heather]

Ivan and Rachel Bates tell the story of Puck the duckling, who can't keep up with the rest of his family, so he finds creative ways to catch up to them. Eventually, of course, he ends up ahead.

The illustrations, created in watercolor and colored pencils, are lovely. The text, however, does not feel as though it quite hits the mark. While this is a somewhat fun read, it feels forgettable.

[Laura Harrison]

Adorable, gentle storybook for young readers and listeners. Softly illustrated in watercolor and pencil. A perfect Springtime story that is fun and whimsical. This title would also make a great Easter present.

[Lindsay]

A delightful story that follows the littlest duckling, Puck, as he cleverly finds ways to keep up with Mamma Duck and her ducklings as they paddle to a lily pond. Puck’s playful antics and fun read-aloud sounds will have readers asking to read this entertaining story again and again.

[Dylan Teut]

Full of onomatopoeia

[Children's Literature Centre at FSU]

Young Puck keeps falling behind throughout the story but no worries, he always finds a creative way to catch up! A great book for young readers as they adventure with Mamma duck and her ducklings.

[Becca]

Adorable duckling finds a way.

[Sarah]

extremely cute - would make a great read aloud for preschool or toddler storytime

[Steph]

Turn/Level: 1/3

Not all of us are fast, that doesn't mean we can't arrive first.

[Syntha Green]

Adorable

[Emily Haage]

3.5

Sweet, simple story with a repetitive structure. This would make a good story time book--pair it with the 5 Little Ducks Went Out One Day rhyme.

[Sadie Dean]

Such a cute book. My 5 month old loved the illustrations and the story was short and sweet.

[Kelly]

A pretty average book about a duck who is always behind until the end. I think it needs a sequel about how this duck can hop so well. Maybe it meets a frog and they hop together?

[Miss Sarah]

A slow duck finds creative ways to keep up with his family. Preschool and up. Cute ending

[Patricia N. McLaughlin]

An dawdling duckling figures out how to hitch rides with humans to keep up with Mama Duck and her raft. Cute illustrations of the brood.

[Adam]

(read aloud by himself at 5yo, no words missed)

[Madeleine]

Super cute! Love a refrain that I can make grown ups chant with me.

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady]

okay. has potential for being a standy-up book.