A Good Day for Ducks

Originally published in 2018 as a hardcover book, A Good Day for Ducks has been reissued in a board book format with a tactile element being added to some of Tuazon’s illustrations.

The phrase “A good day for ducks” is a pejorative expression used to describe a rainy day that can only be seen as being positive by those living things, like ducks, that enjoy a watery environment. However, in this case, Whittingham provides readers with a positive spin on a wet day as two young children, a sister and her younger brother, who, upon looking out their window and seeing the rain falling heavily, do not chant the “Rain, rain, go away/Come again another day” nursery rhyme. Instead, they eagerly don their wet-weather gear and head outside to play, splashing in puddles, getting muddy, watching ducks and ducklings swimming in ponds and observing worms that have surfaced from the soaked ground. The siblings’ enjoyment is interrupted when “Lightning flashes, Thunder crashes”, and mother arrives to take her children home where they doff their wet, muddy rain garments, replacing them with “Cozy sweatshirts, Bunny slippers” before drinking some parent-supplied hot chocolate. The young duo relive part of their day by creating artwork featuring ducks and other aspects of the rainy day. The final illustration sees the pair back at the window, but this time they see a rainbow.

A detail on the book’s cover reads, “Touch & Feel Raindrops!”, a reference to the tactile feature found on some of the book’s “rainy” pages. Young hands and fingers brushed over these pages can feel the raised raindrops, and tilting the book allows shiny raindrops to be seen. Tuazon’s watercolour and ink illustrations are full of action and reflect the children’s joy in both their outside and inside activities.

As a resident of Vancouver, author Whittingham has undoubtedly seen her share of rainy days, and, in A Good Day for Ducks, she has put a most positive spin on such days. Youngsters will identify with the activities imbedded in the simple, but evocative poetic text and anticipate going outside the next time it rains.