The Chick and the Duckling 
Mirra Ginsburg ~ pictures by José Aruego & Ariane Dewey ~ Macmillan, 1972
Though at this point The Chick and the Duckling is a wee bit baby for my son, when we are out thrifting, of course anything with a bird on the cover gets tossed in the bag. Thus how this title found its way onto his bookshelf recently. I've always loved the three-way combo of Ginsburg/Aruego/Dewy, so even though the story is extremely short and simple, I didn't turn up my nose. And in fact, now that I've read through it aloud no less than a dozen times, the moral is one we are currently struggling with... that is the "if everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it?" faze of preschoolerdome. He's gotten to emulating the nasty behavior of some of his class mates, and we've been trying (in vane) to reel it in, so this story helps give our finger shaking some tangibility.
So, there's this chick see, and he wants to do everything his little duck friend does."I found a worm," said the Duckling.
"Me too," said the Chick.
"I caught a butterfly," said the Duckling.
"Me too," said the Chick.
"I am going for a swim," said the Duckling.
"Me too," said the Chick.
Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out this doesn't end well. I'm hoping the meaning sinks in with him that chickens can't swim, and that sometimes it's not so cool to do all the things your friends do. And, of course, that ducks and chicks can still be friends despite their differences in flotation.
Also by:How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky
this was my favorite book as a child...(born in 1973), I would sign it out of the library all the time, must have read it 1000 times!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I loved this book as a child. They had the book at our doctor's surgery and I remember it well. To this day my Mum and I still say to each other on occasion "Me too said the chick". I have now ordered a copy for my own children. Thank you for reminding me of happy memories... even if they were at the doctor's!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this story
ReplyDeleteHey, I have one more book from these authors - "How the Sun Was Brought Back To The Sky" from 1975. It's also about chicks and some their friends, a lot of them, searching for the Sun which has disappeared during the cloudy days ... Very, very nice.
ReplyDelete