Swim, Duck, Swim!

In this jaunty read-aloud, a duckling isn’t keen on the idea of learning to swim. Head offers crisp, full-bleed photographs that show the tiny duck waddling along a dock, while Lurie playfully imagines it refusing to heed its parents’ gentle urging to hop in: “Sorry, but I cannot stay. I won’t swim. You forget./ I told you once. I told you twice. I don’t like to get wet.” Water-shy readers will identify with the duckling’s quandary, but also, perhaps, with the success it finds after diving in with a splash: “I’m in the pond! Look at me!/ Hooray! I’m not afraid.” Ages 3–7. (May)