What’s Up, Duck?

Over the course of my trip to the UK, my son, Charlie, has expanded his vocabulary by leaps and bounds.  One of his new words is “duck” inspired partly by the ponds and water all over the southeast of England and partly by the book that he chose in the airport bookstore:  What’s Up, Duck?  A Book of Opposites.

The book is part of a best selling series by Tad Hills.  Others in the series include “Duck and Goose” and “Duck, Duck, Goose.”

The book is charming as picture books go.  The illustrations are soft and cheerful – the colors are bright without being garish.  The ducks are cute without being overstated.  

The text is, as you can imagine, sets of opposites such as “near” and “far” and “clean” and “dirty.”  Charlie loves it because he is just beginning to experiment with new words and he now has several to add to his repertoire.

I like it because the words are easy to say for Charlie and useful (unlike Maisy’s vocabulary list – Charlie is unlikely to use the word “propeller” much in casual conversation).  He is also learning the concepts of opposites in a fun, not forced way.

I suspect that we may be picking up some more Tad Hills books in the future.  At $6.99, it’s a great price for a board book and destined to become a favorite on my son’s bookshelf.