Duck Tents
The five little ducks from Duck Skates (2005) and Duck Dunks (2008) pitch tents for a backyard camping trip. They go fishing together and toast marshmallows over a campfire as night falls. Startled by the hooting of an owl, the ducklings dive into their individual tents and zip them shut, but they soon decide that there’s safety in numbers. A plot summary can’t convey this picture book’s charm, which lies in its cheerfully bouncing rhymed couplets and expressive ink-and-watercolor artwork. Both writer and illustrator understand young children’s thrill at being scared, but not too scared, before the story’s satisfying ending. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Carolyn Phelan