cover image Sleepover Duck!

Sleepover Duck!

Carin Bramsen. Random House, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-385-38417-9

Previously seen in Hey, Duck! and Just a Duck?, Bramsen’s eminently fuzzy yellow duckling is having a sleepover in the barn with best friend Cat, but sleep is the last thing on Duck’s mind (“Must we nod off right now?/ Alas, I’ve just forgotten how”). After hearing a “woo-hoo” from somewhere in the barn, Duck tries to figure out who else is in the mood to party, approaching slumbering baby animals and their mothers (“Ms. Sow’s asleep. Her piglets, too./ So where’s the one who said woo-hoo?”). Young children will enjoy pointing out the culprit, a small gray owl hanging out in the periphery. Duck’s sleepover enthusiasm is infectious, and Bramsen’s illustrations have a glossy, three-dimensional quality that should help readers feel as though they are part of the fun. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)