When mother Wood Duck lays six beautiful eggs, she is overjoyed, and waits anxiously for her chicks to hatch. Her pleasure in her fluffy offspring, and delight at their swimming prowess, is short-lived however, as it soon emerges that one of the ducklings can only swim in circles. Try as he might, the little Wood Duck just keeps going around and around, earning him his mother's displeasure, his siblings' mockery, and unwanted attention from the nearby animals. But when a predatory fox appears, the little duck's circular motion comes in handy, convincing all that his differences are acceptable.

One of a number of children's stories which feature ducklings who are different, and thereby come in for their share of persecution - see my "ducklings in danger" tag, featuring everything from Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale, The Ugly Duckling, to Margaret Friskey's 1940 picture-book, Seven Diving Ducks - Brian Wildsmith's story, originally published in 1972, is not as grim as some (that Friskey book is pretty extreme!), although still disturbing, to judge by some of the other reviews, to contemporary sensibilities. I'm not sure why ducks have become the scapegoats of the picture-book world (although my shelf was set up to track the theme, in the books I read), but I've yet to read a duck story that didn't feature dangers of one kind or another... Perhaps it's Andersen's influence?

In any case, although not as bad as some - after all, here we have someone, in the form of the wise old owl, who sticks up for the duckling! - I can't say that I particularly enjoyed the story in The Little Wood Duck. My three stars reflects my appreciation of the artwork, which was very appealing, in a colorful, impressionistic fashion. ( )

The Little Wood Duck is one of my favorite of Brian Wildsmith's many lovely picturebooks. The animals are perfect, the striped chipmunks, squirrels, speckled mother duck, and and her fuzzy ducklings swirl through a world of greens and browns with flowers like pompoms popping up beside them and cut-paper butterflies shimmering through the air.

But the writing....agh. Summary: Mother duck is very proud when all six of her eggs hatch. But one duckling only swims in circles. Everyone teases him. An owl flies by and points out that he has one foot larger than the other, causing him swim in circles. "About a week later" a hungry fox appears to attack the ducklings. They all hide in the reeds, except the youngest wood duck (Did I mention he was the youngest?). As he continues to swim in circles, the fox grows dizzy and "falls flat on his back." The ducklings are saved and they never tease their youngest brother again.

Um. Why doesn't his mother defend him when not only his siblings but every other animal is teasing him? A week goes by after the owl defends him (and why didn't the owl eat him?) and before the fox comes...did the owl's defense make the others stop teasing him? If not, then why do we need the whole owl portion of the plot (other than to see Wildsmith's cool owl - like an elaborately painted fence post). And the language is just....blah. "Young fellow?"

I would add this book to my pile of picturebooks from which I cut the text and retain the illustrations for artwork to adorn my walls.

Ooh, and the best picture is the spread with the lonely little duck, water swirling in circles around him, next to a stand of reeds bespangled with butterflies and tiny birds.

Verdict: Lovely illustrations, blah text. If you have fans of Wildsmith, it's worth getting this one, otherwise it's a good book for a private collection.

ISBN: 978-1595720429; Published January 2007 by Star Bright Books (reprint edition); Borrowed from the library; Added to my personal wishlist

FROM LIBRARY CATALOG:
The animals by the lake make fun of little Wood Duck for swimming in circles, but his uniqueness proves to be useful.

Near fine condition