THE STORY OF LITTLE QUACK Betty Gibson Illustrated by Kady MacDonald Denton Toronto, Kids Can Press, 1990. 32pp, galley, $11.95 ISBN 0-921103-97-2. CIP Junior Kindergarten to Grade 1 / Ages 4 to 6 Reviewed by Catherine McInerney. Volume 18 Number 6 1990 November A wonderful warm story with vibrant water-colour illustrations. In this story, Jackie, a young farm lad, is lonely due to the lack of a suitable and non-busy playmate. His parents provide him with a pet duck, and they play together quite happily. One day, however, the duck feels the need for companionship of her own kind. Jackie is relieved when he finds her at the farm next door. When Little Quack disap­pears again, however, she is not found. Jackie's listless mourning for his pet is portrayed very realistically in the text. The happy ending, which reunites Jackie, Little Quack and ten fluffy ducklings, provides a satisfying resolu­tion to the story. The author, Betty Gibson, has spent much time with children in the elemen­tary school setting, having worked as a school principal and an assistant superintendent. She has also worked as a professor at both the University of Saskatchewan and Brandon University. The illustrator, Kady MacDonald Denton, is familiar to us already from Granny is a Darling or Dorothy's Dream (Kids Can Press, 1989) or from her fine illustration of David Booth's collection of Canadian poems for children, Til All the Stars Have Fallen. In that book she demonstrated her great versatility as an illustrator. In this one, her bright coloration (pink sheep, orange cows and horses, blue and purple trees) shows imagination. This book should become a classic duck tale. Recommended. Catherine McInerney, London, Ont.