Un-Forgettable Friday: Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin; Illustrated by Betsy Lewin

photo by spacepleb www.flickr.com

*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders
*A very intelligent duck as the main character
*Rating: Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin is the hilarious sequel to Click, Clack, Moo. Kids will keep asking for it again and again!

Short, short summary: Farmer Brown is going on vacation, and he is leaving his brother, Bob, in charge. Farmer Brown warns Bob to watch out for Duck–he’s trouble. All Bob has to do is follow the directions that his brother wrote down for him. But somehow. . .Duck gets a hold of the pencil. So, Bob reads his directions, and he discovers that Tuesday night is pizza night–and not the frozen kind either. Wednesday is bath day–and the pigs love bubble bath and good towels. Farmer Brown calls to check on how things are going, and Bob says things are going just fine. And again he warns his brother about Duck. During movie night, Farmer Brown calls again to check on things and he hears: “Giggle, giggle, quack, giggle, moo, giggle, oink. . ” Uh-oh!

So, what do I do with this book?

1. Children must study these illustrations as so much of the story is told through these. Look for Duck and his trusty pencil in each scene! What is Bob not seeing? Discuss how pictures and words work together in picture books to tell the story. With young readers, you can also teach them how to use pictures as clues to figure out unknown words.

2. Let your students be the problem-solvers for Farmer Brown. Ask them to discuss what they would do to keep Duck under control if they went on vacation. Then do a shared writing activity for younger students or let older students write on their own their ideas for keeping Duck in line. (Of course, this is also a great time to discuss animal rights. )

3. This is a great oral reading and echo reading book for students. They can repeat the fun phrases after you: “Giggle, giggle, cluck.” or “Giggle, giggle, moo.” Let different students take turns saying different parts. Have fun reading this silly book! Show children that reading is fun!!!!