Peep and Ducky

Martin (Let's Have a Tree Party!) covers the highs and lows of a play date in the park with this story of two young friends%E2%80%94a tiny yellow duckling and an even tinier blue bird. The rhymed verse has a playfulness that echoes the birds' light rambunctiousness: " %E2%80%98Play cars,' says Peep./ %E2%80%98Beep, beep,' says Ducky./ %E2%80%98I'm a jeep,' says Peep./ %E2%80%98I'm a trucky,' says Ducky." Walker (Bears in Beds) gives the friends lumpy bodies and expressive dot eyes; loose black outlines help both the birds and certain key props (a slide, a picnic table) stand out against the soft, painterly backgrounds. There are some bumps (both literal and figurative) along the way, but nothing that some simple, earnest apologies can't fix. It's a quiet but well-observed portrait of a budding friendship%E2%80%94including that all-too-familiar moment of truth when "Momma says, %E2%80%98Time...'/ And Poppa says, %E2%80%98To go go!'/ But Ducky and Peep cry,/ %E2%80%98No, no, no!' " Parents ought to find it a useful model of what a successful outing among friends looks like. Ages 1%E2%80%934. (Feb.)