Just Ducks!

This book has charming illustrations and contains interesting facts about ducks, as told by a young girl who is the narrator. I would love it... if only the author did not describe duck mating pairs as "boyfriend and girlfriend" (they are not humans!) and then immediately go on to mention how male mallards sometimes get too excited and physically attack/gang up on female mallards. It's duck mating behavior, not girlfriend and boyfriend behavior... this feels significant to note, and makes it the kind of book I would not leave on a shelf for a child to read uncritically.

I feel so sad for city kids who can only find scraps of nature like mallards... even sadder for those who know only pigeons and roaches. I hope this book reaches some of them, and inspires them to look harder.

I appreciate how it talked, briefly and non-accusatory, about feeding ducks. Mainly the idea presented is: only feed a little stale bread when it's so cold that the ducks/ geese/ swans would be less likely to survive with out it.

I, personally, really did not like the illustrations, or the tight focus, or being reminded that humans are causing a mass extinction and that maybe mallards will be the only kind of ducks there are when your littles are my age.

Lovely exploration of fun facts about ducks! Very much like Davies' Surprising Sharks, this also reminds me of the Nic Bishop books but with illustrations instead of photos. Davies takes us through a day in the life of ducks on a suburban or city river as seen by a little girl who clearly loves them. Beside the girl's narration there are little snippets of information and facts about ducks printed in a smaller, slightly different, but complementary font. Rubbino's illustrations are officially mixed media according to the artist's note, but look like gorgeous, soft watercolors. The muted palette of greens, blues, yellows and browns bring to mind the kind of rainy days that ducks find glorious. Lots of white space allows the eye to focus show more on the ducks themselves in all their goofy charm. Backmatter includes an index and a brief note with even more information about ducks. I have a weakness for well designed books with fun facts about animals and this falls right in that spot. Charming! show less

I discover the amazing Nicola Davies for the first time this year when I read her Cybils nominee Dolphin Baby. Davies wows me with her writing. Dolphin Baby is wonderful.

Then what do I learn? Not one Nicola Davies title is up for the Cybils nonfiction picture book award but two! How can they do this to me? Pitting Wonderful against Equally Wonderful.

And Just Ducks is wonderful. Davies brings you into the world of ducks with a "Quack-quuuack, quack-quaack, quack" that begins the book. And you are there. With ducks. A nonfiction story every big as mesmerizing as any fiction tale and it's just about ducks. Just ducks.

Love this book.

Just Ducks by Nicola Davies is a great informational text that teachers could use when teaching about ducks. This is a fun-filled, wonderfully illustrated book that allows children to learn facts about all kinds of ducks: where they live, what they eat, and a number of other facts. I would recommend this book to anybody, not just teachers. All children would benefit from the facts that this book has to offer about ducks.

This book should almost be nonfiction instead of fiction... In fact I'm not sure why it's not. There's very little story, and mostly just educational text about ducks. Nice illustrations, but not super engaging.

Sweet children's book which teaches you all about mallard ducks, entwined in a narrative about living in a city.