Farmer Schulz's Ducks

Farmer Schulz is proud of the beautiful ducks who live with him by the banks of the Onkaparinga River. As the city spreads, closing in on their farm, traffic gets heavy on the road between the farm and the river. Tragedy strikes when a hasty motorist kills a duck crossing the road. Several other incidents occur; all proposed solutions to save the ducks fail. Farmer Schulz ingeniously digs a tunnel under the road for his ducks. This restores tranquillity to the banks of the river. The storytelling is gentle as Thiele describes life along the Australian river. Readers will be as alarmed as Farmer Schulz at the intrusion of civilization on the idyllic farm life. Milton's realistic watercolors reveal a wonderfully lazy life on a riverbank and all the charms of ducks of different types. As in Make Way For Ducklings , the moral is that city life is not entirely safe for ducks; but some readers may be disturbed by the number of ducks killed by the thoughtless motorists. Ages 5-8. (August)