Duck at the Door

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. 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 show more 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

I enjoyed this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations allow the reader to understand how each character was feeling despite most of the characters’ lack of dialogue in the text. The illustrator allowed the audience to see the characters’ emotions based on their facial expressions. This was especially evident when Max, the duck, left the house for the spring. The other animals missed him greatly. I was able to pick up on this by the illustrator’s ability to show this through the animals’ sad faces. I also enjoyed this book because of the writing style. The author was able to make the story flow nicely by describing what Max learned each month. The plot flowed chronologically because the author broke it down by month. She show more wrote, “In January he learned to use the remote control. In February he discovered he had a flair for cooking.” This makes it simple for the readers to understand how Max’s character developed throughout the story. Another aspect of the writing that I liked was the author’s emphasis of certain words. She emphasized various words by writing them in all uppercase letters. For example, when Max first came into the house he said, “I thought I’d love winter too. But It turned out to be COLD and very lonely.” Since the word “cold” was in uppercase letters, I was able to emphasize it in my reading and understand how Max may have felt. Overall, the main idea of this story is to try to be patient and understanding of people because even If they annoy you, you may realize that you miss them when they are gone. This is evident when Max goes back to his flock of ducks for the spring. All of the animals started to get annoyed with Max before he left and then quickly realized how much they missed him after he was gone. show less

"TThe Duck at the Door” is a good children’s book. The duck, named Max, doesn’t migrate south for the winter and stays behind in the cold. The illustrations in the book are very well done and even go beyond the text. For example, the book says “At first Max had a lot to learn” but the pictures show Max looking at a telephone, drinking out of a cup, and reading. The book also has a good moral. The other pets welcome Max, a different kind of animal, into the house. The pets also find a good solution to deal with the problem of Max getting annoying by going to talk to the owner in the house. A final reason I liked this book was because it was funny and entertaining. Most children know a duck can’t watch TV, drink out of a show more glass, or make food so it was funny to see drawings of it. The ending is also funny, just as the pets begin to miss Max, he shows up again – and brings his entire flock. It is a light, fun story that is entertaining. show less

Duck at the door is a sweet picture book that shows the good and bad of relationships. When the duck first comes to the door in the winter all the other pets are excited for the new friend. Since the duck is left alone after migrating he now has to learn to do new things in the house. Through his lessons and misfortunes of spilled milk and learning to cook the duck find his home. The duck's relationship with the other pets become agitated but when he's gone all the pets miss him and rejoice at his return. Children can first and foremost relate to the duck's new adventures of trying and learning to do new things. During this young age children are trying, learning, failing, and creating interests in the world on their own accord. Like show more the duck they are learning to be comfortable in their surroundings. Also, children see how the duck and pets relationships unfolds. They witness the other pets frustrations with the duck like they probably have frustrations towards siblings and friends. But despite all that their lives would not be the same without working through the hard times with the ones they love. show less

Duck at the Door by Jackie Urbanovic is a children's picture book. This is a fun and simple story about migration. Max the duck wanted to see what it would like to stay in the North for the winter. To his surprise, it was cold and lonely until he stumble on Irene and all of her animal friends. They taught Max a few things and Max ran with it. He always kept things lively and his friends on their toes. When Max leaves to be with his flock again, they realize that they really do love Max and al of his crazy adventures. This book would be great to use in the classroom with younger students. You could take this story and talk about many different lessons that range from migration to friendship. This would in my opinion is a great story. I show more interrupted this story as sometimes when we invite others who are not usually in our world it can be a mix of emotions, but in the end you learn and love the lessons that come with the new experiences. The illustrations n this story are colorful with a water/color pencil feel. Very kid friendly and fun. show less

If you are looking for a children�s book that can have some similarities to us as well as our own animals and human friends, then you will love this book. You will laugh at all the expressions each animal has. This is a genuine story of complete love; a look at how the things that annoy us in many of our relationships are the things that stimulate and support us. And, it is those things that we often miss when they are gone. Jackie's watercolor images are warm and invite all ages to welcome Max into their hearts and homes.

One winter night, a homely dwelling full of animals is awakened by a knock at the front door. Having no idea what they'll find on the other side, Max the duck is the last thing they anticipate. Soon this show more larger-than-life visitor is making himself at home, forcing his way into their hearts and proving to be a bit of a pest. Just when everyone has had their fill of Max's favorite TV shows, blanket hogging, and experimental cookery, spring arrives and he leaves to reunite with his flock, and naturally, the entire household feels his absence. Does Max return for the following winter or did he learn his lesson of not fleeing from the flock? Check this book out and fall in love with all the animals. show less

My first graders love me to read this aloud, because they can relate with the problems that Duck causes to the family he decides to winter with when his flock flies south. I always point out how Duck sleeps on Brody, and have them imagine how uncomfortable they would be if someone slept on them. Then we talk about why the others are missing Duck when he goes. They love the pictures, and really get into the story. The little bit of suspense at the end when Duck leaves always pulls them in and gets a laugh. It is definitely one that I will read year after year when the first graders are studying seasons, because it is fun that fits right into the curriculum.