Quick duck!

A wide-eyed and enthusiastic yellow duck takes center stage in this unstuffy introduction to prepositions. "Quick, Duck! Out of the mud! Quick, Duck! Under the hedge!" writes Murphy, as her tiny hero, outlined in thick black ink and painted in bright watercolor, makes its way past flowers, through reeds, and over stones to meet its family for a swim. A companion book, Slow Snail, which is available simultaneously, tackles the same concept (at a slower pace). Ages 1-3. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

PreS-These titles complement each other in their simple exploration of opposites. In Quick Duck!, an energetic duckling joyfully bounds out of a mud puddle, under a hedge, and around some flowers to join its family down at the pond. "Snail slides s-l-o-w-l-y down her flower" across a stone and beyond on her way to dinner with a friend, always s-l-o-w-l-y. Children can track the animals' journey across the pages, by way of duck's muddy footprints and snail's slime trail. In both cases, ink and watercolor cartoons are rendered digitally, creating simple and charming works.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.