Bim, Bam, Bop . and Oona

PreS-Gr 2—Oona the duck is eternally last. Her short legs, flat feet, and "legs for waddling" always result in an unsatisfactory trip to the pond, in which the running ducks get there first. First to see the "smooth as glass" morning pond or swim in the best spot under the willow tree. Oona doesn't feel as big—or as "bouncy as a duck should feel." With the encouragement of her frog friend Roy, Oona works with her strengths. She's "good with gizmos," and several tries—a device to wake earlier, a workout machine to boost her "speed waddling," and a lastly, a hijacked, gizmo-filled laundry basket (complete with the full line of clothes) to fly her to the pond—result in an early arrival and the admiring eyes of all below. A text filled with literary devices, including simile, metaphor, and a bit of alliteration accompanies detailed, full-page spreads in pen and watercolor. Onomatopoeia punctuates Oona's triumphant ride from barn to pond with a larger decorative font, and responses from the three running ducks appear appropriately in three lines of rhyming verse.