Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Hamilton Duck

Hamilton Duck
Arthur Getz ~ Golden Press, 1972


Found a huge score of books at a local thrift shop that I had when I was little. It's so weird to find stuff that didn't necessarily influence you enough to remember, but once you see it, tons of bells go off. I knew my son would like Hamilton Duck (as I once did) because he loves anything that includes his favorite animal ~ the duck. So when I whip this one out, I have to be prepared for four or five readings in a row, at least.

Autumn had come.
Every day the leaves fell.
Birds began to disappear.
One morning...
Hamilton Duck decided to go for a swim.
When he got to the pond,
the water was as hard
as the floor of the barn.


What follows is a brief but funny interaction between a duck oblivious of winter and a fish annoyed by an oblivious duck. The author was a prolific New Yorker magazine illustrator, and this book was followed by a springtime sequel two years later. A short and sweet story with to-the-point pictures and lots of personality. Plus, it has that great Golden Press oversized feel which really reminds me of books from that era.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had this book as a child too, and loved it. My mother still has a copy, and I feel the same when I read it to my daughter. Great pick!

Burgin Streetman said...

he's been dragging this book around for a week. even insisting on taking it to camp with him.

Anonymous said...

Patty
My 1st grade teacher gave me a copy because I always wanted to get it on library day...still have it and still lvoe it.

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