Davy and the Duckling by Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas

Penguin/Viking, 2013. ISBN 9780670075614.
When the baby duck first hatched, the first thing it saw was Davy, and a lifelong bond was created. No matter what Davy did or where he went, there was the duckling, his constant companion. And Davy was very happy to be its substitute mother, looking after it so well even when it was no longer a duckling. It was there when Davy did his homework, and when his best friend moved away and he needed company. And when the duck was very old and his quack was croaky, Davy still looked after it. And a whole new cycle began.
Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas have created the most beautiful picture book about love and caring and enduring friendship. Theirs is an inspired partnership and the book has a textual and graphic richness that only artists at the pinnacle of their professions can produce. From the front cover to the back there are opportunities to talk about a host of things as you share this book, and it would be worth including the teachers' notes with it as a model of the sorts of things parents could do to extend the boundaries of the book and enrich this literature learning experience for their child. Or hold a parent participation evening and model its possibilities yourself.
This book will open up the door for children to a new time of delicious delight. Their belief in the magic of the written word will be reinforced.
Barbara Braxton