“I have lost my new blue socks. Did I put them in my box?” Simple rhymes—including socks, box, fox, and ox!—spin the tale of a small duck who waddles through the countryside, forlornly searching for his blue socks. “I’m trying not to be depressed. / Without my socks I feel undressed.”
Finally, a sharp-eyed peacock sees a bit of blue peeking out of duck’s lace-up shoes and the mini-mystery is solved! Soft-hued, adorable pen-and-ink and watercolor paintings adorn this winsome story that shares the familiar experience of not really losing something after all.---from the publisher
32 pages 978-0547752679 Ages 4-7
Keywords: duck, rhyme, fun, humor, mystery, bird, friends, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, 7 year old, losing things
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A little green duck is as blue as the favorite pair of socks he is missing. Where could they have gone? On his hunt the duck meets a fox who suggests asking the ox. The ox tells him to look down on the rocks, but all he sees there are peacocks. This very simple rhyming picture book would work just as well as an easy reader—with much better artwork than often seen in that format. Illustrator Ruzzier has fun with the idea (when the duck is tossing stuff from his box as he tries to locate the socks, he comes up with everything from one die to a pair of underpants), and the characters, simply drawn in ink and watercolor, all have their own personalities. The ending won’t be a surprise to the eagle-eyed, but those who guess where the socks are will enjoy their superiority over Duck. Just one quibble: the key line, which has a little peacock showing the socks to Duck, sounds like Yoda-speak, and kids may trip on it. Otherwise, good fun. Preschool-Grade 1. --Ilene Cooper
