Splish, Splash, Ducky!

by Lucy Cousins

Revel in the rain with a little duckling and friends in a bright adventure from the creator of Maisy that kids will find just ducky.

Oh, goody, hooray!
It's raining today.

When I'm feeling happy.
I say quack, quack, quack.

Ducky Duckling has so much fun in the rain! Readers will be happy to splish, splash, and paddle along with on Ducky's adventures with a frog and a worm, a bug and a slug, some swans and some fish. But what happens when the rain stops and Ducky feels sad? Can Dad save the day and bring sunshine back into those "quack, quack, quacks"?

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Birds, Childrens, Juvenile, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published February 13, 2018

About the author

Lucy Cousins, BA Honours in Graphic Design from The Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton Polytechnic, postgraduate degree from Royal College of Art, is an author-illustrator of children's books. She is best known for her books featuring Maisy Mouse but she has also published other children's books including one about Noah's Ark. She is a mother of four and lives in Hampshire, England. Her own children are the inspiration for her books whose age range is 2-8.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the vibrant colors, and the sheer joy that warms me as I look upon each page. When I first picked this book up, I opened it at random and saw a duckling hugging a bug and a slug, and burst out laughing! It's a beautiful whimsical book made for sharing.

[Figgy]

RTC.

Cute little rhyming story from the author of Maisy.

Quite light on words for younger readers, and a good one to read together as kids can be encouraged to join in on the quacking.

Nothing overly amazing to mark this book as unique or special, though.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Cousins makes me happy...Quack Quack Quack

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Lucy Cousins' illustrations so much, especially for under fives. So perfect.

[Dna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucy Cousins does it again.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple word book about Ducky Duckling who is the happiest when he and his friends from the pond spend a rainy day playing in the rain.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noah took a couple of readings to warm to it, but it’s the first book we’ve read together in his big boy room and he likes it.

[Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splish, Splash, Ducky! is a lovely story about a duck and it's adventures on a rainy day.

This is a short story but the children loved it, even the children that rarely sit still long enough to finish a story! The children enjoyed seeing all the friends that duck found on his day as he explored in the rain and they particularly loved the repetitiveness of the quack, quack, quack on each page as this allowed them to join in with the story too.

The illustrations are bold and brightly coloured which makes it perfect for young children and keeping their attention. The children enjoyed seeing all the creatures duck came across and they seemed to like the frog the best.

We really enjoyed this story and I'm sure we'll be reading it again lots more in the future. A perfect book for toddlers and a nice surprise ending for little duck.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This board book edition of a duckling playing in the rain with his animal friends is as charming as the picture book edition but has a smaller trim size (but not too small) and sturdy pages for little hands. Ducky adores the rain and is sad when it ends, but his father is there to show him that you can have fun in any weather. Cousin’s bright chunky paintings are perfect for babies and toddlers and the font is large enough for tired adult eyes to read and for young eyes to pick out letters. Highly recommended for board book collections.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fun things about this text are the repetitive text that encourages children to participate, the bright illustrations, and how much Ducky enjoys the rain and all her/his friends. I also liked the way Ducky's father cheered him/her up when the rain stopped. The thing that I enjoyed less was that sometimes the rhythm and rhymes are a little off, which makes it a little bit less fun to read aloud.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A duckling merrily quacks greetings to his friends as he romps through a rain shower. When the rain stops, he is sad, but his dad shows him they can have fun in any weather. Rhyming text, Cousin’s bright chunky illustrations and a parade of familiar animals should make this a winner with the toddler set who will fun quacking along with duck. Recommended for purchase.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't love the text of this one ("Ducky Duckling" really feels like phoning it in, name-wise) but as always, Cousins' illustrations are bright and wonderful, and Iris is OBSESSED with this one. She is just figuring out that "daddy" is a category in addition to a person, so "daddy duck" is exciting.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story of all the ways a duckling plays with their friends while it rains. The text rhymes and each page has the repetition of "quack, quack, quack", which I think younger kiddos will catch on to and enjoy saying with the reader. a quick, fun read for a lap story or a story time with younger kids.

[Eva_Amaré · Rating 4 out of 5]

We're smack bang in the midst of an animal obsession right now and ducks, frogs and birds are at the top of our favourites list because who doesn't like to hop around yelling ribbit or waddle around the room quacking like a fat duck? As always, the pics and colours don't disappoint. Another Lucy Cousins winner.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ducky is very happy exploring in the rain and visiting animal friends, but when it stops Ducky is sad. Fortunately, Dad shows Ducky that they can have fun regardless of the weather. Lucy Cousins signature bright, vibrant illustrations, gentle rhyming text and Ducky's repetitive quack make this a fun board book to share, especially in preschool units about weather or rain.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this at the library on a rainy day, during a quick search for kid's books about rain. Most of the other books I found were for older kids. This one was right on the mark, since M likes ducks and quacks and repetitive lines.

This is an extremely simple book with some fun elements, great for a 2 year old. M liked the worm and the frog and the daddy duck at the end.

[Annie Behel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was simply adorable. I would most definitely read this to my future students if they are younger than 10. The illustrations were so cute and colorful, and the story of the duck looking for friends to play in the water with was so perfect for young kids. If I were using this story, I would encourage my classroom to say the "Quack, Quack!" noises with me to get the students involved.

[Twos Bothell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun tale of a friendly duckling on a rainy day. There are other animal friends he meets and plays with in the rain, but then the rain stops and he becomes sad. But his dad knows just how to cheer him up. It is a very interactive book, great for keeping twos interested, and easily expanded on if they are older. Great repetition and rhymes, though the quacks didn’t have a rhyme

[Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Say hello to Ducky Duckling! Whenever he is feeling happy, he says, Quack, quack, quack! And what makes him happiest is a rainy day. That's when he plays in the raindrops with all of his friends. Drip, drop, plip, plop! But, oh no! What happens when the rain stops? -- inside left jacket flap

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It will be a fun storytime read - it just grated on me personally. :-p The illustrations are big and friendly, in Cousins' typical style (that I also just....never clicked with), and the kids who like Maisy will like these just as well.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title is misleading--Ducky is quack, quack, quacking on EVERY single annoying page--not splish, splashing on every single page. Oy, this refrain annoyed me. If I had to read this for a storytime, I would have to defenestrate myself.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This looks like a great book to share with the toddler age during spring and rainy times. Or if you want to learn about ducks. Repetitive phrases, rhyming words and large colorful illustrations make this a fun book.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little Ducky loves a rainy day. He quack, quack, quacks, when he's happy. But when the rain stops, he's not so happy and doesn't have a reason to quack until his daddy shows him the butterflies and gives him a ride on his back... quack!

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Lucy Cousins books for storytimes and enjoyed this one too with her usual bright big illustrations, friendly rain theme and engaging rhymes. My only minor peeve is that the quack quack quacks didn't quite go with the rest of the rhyme.

[Colorado Buck · Rating 5 out of 5]

was going to use for our duck theme for toddler storytime. could also be used for baby storytime. great colorful pictures, it's about a duck running into other animals and excited that it's raining, and he goes around quacking.

[skcocnaH · Rating 1 out of 5]

We finished the book and my 5-year-old said, “why does it look like a little kid drew the pictures?” She knew the illustrator was a grown up woman. I recognize that this is a specific style pandering to children, but I’m just not a fan.

[Emily Storytime · Rating 3 out of 5]

5/11/23 "Ducks & Rainbows"
I unfortunately rushed this one a bit, but I'll give it another try some other time. I like that QUACK QUACK QUACK is repeated on (almost) every page, giving the kids a chance to recognize the words on the page.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of quacks in this book! Short and sweet with Cousin's well known style: bright and upbeat illustrations. Would be fun in a storytime if you're up for all the quacks that will inevitably erupt!

Themes: ducks, rain, feelings: happy/sad, stories that rhyme
Ages: toddler-K
Pub year: 2018

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're lucky and / or skilled, you might get an audience to "Quack, quack, quack," on every page. There are little rhymes about different parts of the river / pond ecosystem on each page. Later, it starts to rain and Little Duck gets sad. "Dad "rhymes with "sad," and ta-da, there he is.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 15 month old loved this book.

We borrowed a copy from the library and he looked at it every day for two weeks. He also learn to say the word "Quack" because of this book. (I wanted his next word to be mum)