Giggle, Giggle, Quack (2004)

The second story in my newest favorite children's storybook trilogy is Giggle, Giggle, Quack, now on DVD from Scholastic. Our story resumes on the farm of Farmer Brown, who is leaving on a vacation after putting his brother Bob in charge of the animals. "Keep an eye on Duck," he warns. "He's trouble." (Duck finagled custody of the typewriter from the cows as well as Farmer Brown when we last saw him in Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type.) Too late -- Duck has already cadged Farmer Brown's pencil and proceeds to substitute his own animal-care directions for the real ones! 5 stars. Written and illustrated by Helme Heine, The Most Wonderful Egg in the World reminds us that a competition needn't select one arbitary winner since everyone has something beautiful to contribute. 3 stars. In James Marshall's Wings: A Tale of Two Chickens, wise and book-loving Harriet must rescue her airhead friend Winnie from a sly fox in a hot-air balloon. 4 stars. The Foolish Frog is a rollicking Pete Seeger banjo tune that can carry a whole roomful of kids into singalong euphoria with its parade of whimsical verses and jubilant chorus. 4 stars. Written and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Picnic is an infectiously delightful if wordless tale of a mouse family's picnic down the road and by the shore. 4.5 stars. Written and illustrated by Margaret Mahy, The Three-Legged Cat is a memorable tale about a fussy dowager sister who wishes for an even quieter cat than her three-legged bundle of fluff while her world-roving brother (who stops by annually for "a spot of tea and a bit of a chin wag") wishes for a warmer Russian fur hat than the thinning one that's warmed his bald pate for years. 4 stars. Overall 4 stars.