The Wounded Duck

by Peter Barnhart, Adrienne Adams (illustrator)

For two years in a row a very old women postpones winter in the south to help a duck who has become blind and deaf. For the third winter the trip no longer matters.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Kellie Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book when I was little. My mom used to cry whenever she read it to me. I recently re-read it after finding it at the library, and now I see why. It's so sad! Beautiful illustrations.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique, atmospheric, and sad, this is the sort of picture book that doesn't get made anymore and is in constant danger of weeding on library shelves. Which is a shame, because the haunting illustrations are truly beautiful (look at those winter trees!) and the story of an elderly woman caring for a disabled duck is touching.

The woman knows life is slowly ebbing away from her with each new year, but she needs the duck and the duck needs her (this will become even more sobering to careful readers who read between the lines--the duck appears to be causing his own injuries in order to stay with his caretaker, although this is implied and never stated directly).

We get a sense throughout the book of how it will end, but it still may be startling and a little too sad for especially young and sensitive kids, so adults will want to preview it first. For older kids and adults, this is a story that will stick with you.

[Irina Elena · Rating 2 out of 5]

You go looking for a cozy, melancholy story to soothe a sore heart and you end up cursing the luck that brought such a depressing tale into your life at the most inappropriate time. Nice message on the undying nature of love, but good lord, if I ever tried to read this to a child I'm not sure which one of us would end up crying first...