Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up

Every morning, Mama Quail leads her ten little baby quails through the meadow while Papa Quail keeps a close watch from high above. All nine of her brothers and sisters scurry along closely behind Mama, but Queenie Quail always falls behind, her attention captured by the beauty in the world around her. Everything she encounters is so new and so fascinating that she can’t help herself but to stop and take notice. Mama and Papa Quail always have to remind Queenie to hurry, hurry, hurry, to keep up with the rest of the family, since hurry is what quails do. Queenie does her very best and wants to be a good quail, but she just can’t keep up.

One day when Queenie is lagging behind, she spies something orange and fuzzy. She isn’t sure what it is, but the orange thing that cautiously and quietly sneaks in the meadow makes her feel very nervous, and so she follows it and investigates. Now Queenie Quail has to warn her family of the cat that is stalking them, and hurry, hurry, hurry to catch up.

Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up is such a beautifully written story about appreciating the world around us and taking the time to stop to notice and wonder. The writing begins very whimsically and is full of descriptive words but turns to a more fast-paced, action-packed read after the orange fuzzy thing enters the scene. Pedersen’s illustrations perfectly capture Queenie Quail’s world and encourage readers to also notice the beauty around them. The details in the writing and in the illustrations, along with the repetition in the text, make Queenie Quail Can’t Keep Up an excellent read-a-loud that will keep young readers engaged until the end.