Quacky Duck

It's hard to resist a tale that begins ""Once upon a pond"" and ends ""And everyone lived quackily ever after,"" especially when the story that unfolds in between is as blithe as this one. The Rogers' (Our House) tightly focused verse, with its intermittent rhymes, plays out on an intimate barnyard stage, and the drama revolves around a loquacious duck whose running commentary of quacks (``She quacked at the heron. She quacked at the fly. She quacked at the drake who went waddling by'') irritates her neighbors. But when she disappears for a month, they miss her cheerful clatter. ``A bit too peaceful,'' Frog decides, and everyone is very glad to see her when she returns, trailing a strand of new ducklings. Wright's sunny artwork has a fresh-washed look; it radiates cozy, all-is-well-with-the-world cheer--especially in the final, moonlit scene, where a sleeping Mama Duck is wreathed by peacefully snoozing ducklings. Just the right tonic for bedtime. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)