Jackie Urbanovic

One of my all-time favorite picture books is Duck Soup. It's got humor, cool illustrations, a great read-aloud, and ducks. Ducks are good. Somehow, I missed out on the fact that it's a sequel!

Look, look, another one came first!

It's a peaceful winter night in Irene's house...until the animals hear a knock at the door. Irene and her friends take in Max the duck, teach him how to live in their house, and become good friends....but then Max starts being a bit exhausting to live with. show more Fortunately, it's spring, and Max is on his way....but the animals quickly discover they can't live without him and wait eagerly for winter...when Max has a big surprise for them!

The pictures are warm and the colors shift to show mood. In the first spread, as Max toils his way through the snow and the animals sleep in the dying warmth of the fire, the colors are gray and white outside and soft, dark browns inside. As Max becomes part of the household, he becomes more rambunctious, interacting with the many other animals.

I will definitely be using this funny and warm picturebook in my storytimes this winter! (possible storytime themes include: ducks, migration, hibernation, friends, and just for general fun)

Verdict: Highly recommended! You should definitely have all the duck books in your picture book collection [update - there are easy readers now too!]

ISBN: 978-0061214387; Published January 2007 by HarperCollins; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library; Added to my personal wishlist show less

Oh now that's fun. Theme similar to what's been done so many times before, but told in a way that makes it fresh and striking. But with the silliest wordplay and cutest, liveliest art that I've seen in awhile, too. I will definitely look for more by the author/artist.

My 6yr old son checked this book from the library. I normally don't have time to review all the books he checks out, but I enjoyed this one so much I wanted to review (enjoyed by both my 2 and 6 year olds too).
This is presented in the style of a fairy tale (like Ugly Duckling). It has a nice moral of being true to yourself and that friends accept and help you be yourself. I docked a star because I don't really like the illustrations all that much, especially that the frog kicks ducks (why show more not kick rocks or something?) and how the fox is drawn. show less

Max the duck is the popular protagonist of Jackie Urbanovic's series of wonderfully illustrated children's novels. In her latest installment Max befriends an alligator, Harold, that has escaped from the zoo. Harold comes to Max and Irene's house, asking them to help him hide from the zoo detective. Harold says he didn't mean to but he ate a little girl's pet! All of the animals at Irene's house immediately become frightened of Harold and try to hide from him. Everyone except Max, that is. show more The brave duck steps forward and offers to help Harold because he remembers how Irene once helped him.

Max convinces the other animals, cats and dogs, bunnies and birds, that Harold is not a threat to them and they all work together to hide the large green alligator so that he doesn't get in trouble with the zoo authorities. The illustrations of the animals are soft and rounded, with vibrant coloring, making them very cute and appealing. The anthropomorphic designs and almost-human exclamations will also appeal to young readers. Although the illustrations appear somewhat childish, the text of the story is quite long and slightly advanced. I would recommend this picture book for children ages six through ten. show less