There is a new favorite picture book in La Casa SaraJean, and it’s called Little Quack. Written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Derek Anderson, this adorable little tale is the story of five little ducklings—Piddle, Puddle, Widdle, Waddle, and Little Quack—and their reluctance to enter the water to learn to swim.

The repetition in the story is both soothing and fun to read. For each duckling, the mother says, “Come, little ducklings. Paddle on in the water with me,” to which each replies, “No, mama, no! We’re too scared!” Then, one by one, each duck braves the water and pronounces it to be a lot of fun. Mama continues to encourage each duckling, telling them, “You can do it. I know you can,” not like a cheerleader, but like a confident, loving parent. Each duckling then joins his or her mother with this same repeated process, until only Little Quack is left. Of course, he dives in with the most gusto, and little ones love to see him go!

Anderson’s illustrations are just as adorable as the story itself. Each painted page is vibrant, though still muted enough to portray a gentle family environment. The water splashing is my daughter’s favorite, particularly in Little Quack’s big final scene. All of the ducklings have their own personalities, ways of describing the water, and even hairdos—one even has a bow—making the story even more enjoyable.

The book is also a counting game. At the bottom of each page, the number of ducklings in the water is depicted numerically in a “Quack-U-Lator,” allowing children to count along and decide how many ducklings are in the water—or, alternatively, how many are left in the nest—based on the little duckling figures illustrated. This is a great opportunity for beginning adding and subtracting skill practice.

I was delighted to learn that this duo has several other Little Quack books available as well. From colors to new friends, hide and seek to bedtime, ABC’s to counting, Little Quack has many different adventures kids can join him on. He even has his own adorable little plush duckling doll—not that we need more of those in our house! (He sure is cute though, I must admit.)

We’ve already purchased the original Little Quack book, but now that I know there are others I’m sure we’ll be searching for them at the library during our next visit.