My Brother is a Duck
Stella is convinced that her new baby brother, named Drake is a duck. However, she is a fledging scientist and knows that evidence needs to be found to prove her theory. She investigates duck characteristics and behaviors comparing them with her baby brother. This silly story provides readers with a good laugh as Stella explores the possibilities of what having a duck brother would mean as they grow up. She decides that if her brother is a duck that she will be the best big sister a duck ever had.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
Before reading, ask children to share what they know about ducks, what are their characteristics? Show pictures of ducks to help the children generate ideas. Create a list of the ideas and add any additional characteristics that are not mentioned. They may include: the way they walk, called waddling; many are yellow in color; A drake, a hen and a duckling are names for kinds of ducks, Ducks make a noise that sounds like quacking; ducks have feathers and bills; and so on. During Reading, tell children to pay close attention as the story is read for the reasons Stella thinks her new baby brother is a duck, point to each idea on the list as it is mentioned in the story. After reading, ask children to predict how Stella will determine whether or not her father is a duck!
Share with families that fantastical stories in children’s picture books often provide humor that is exaggerated and silly. These kinds of stories sometimes provide a fun way to explore something that is real in one’s world—as in My Brother is a Duck—Stella adjusts to a new family member. Humor in picture books engages children, creates laugh-out-loud scenes, and provides a pleasurable reading experience for all involved. Share other titles that families may want to include in their family story times that result in reading being associated with laughter and happiness. For example: Simon’s New Bed by Christian Timmer, Wolfie the Bunny by Ame Dyckman, This Book Just Ate My Dog by Richard Byrne, Two Tough Crocs by David Bedford and That is Not a Good Idea by Mo Willems.