Quack-Quack

Mama Duck wants to protect her baby, soon to be hatched from its shell, so she teases Fox into following her away from the nest. Alas, while she is gone, Quack-Quack emerges from his shell, and, upon seeing Little Frog, says, ""Hello, Mommy!'' Thus begins a duckling identity crisis and a search for Mama through woods and marsh. Quack-Quack meets Foxbut Mama swoops past just in time. ``I'll never leave you again,'' says she. It's a delightfully reassuring outcome, thanks in no small part to the duck-baby's new friends. Stehr's pictures show a yellow Quack-Quack, first dejected with droopy wings and a bewildered look on his face and later triumphantly taunting Fox from a safe aerial vantage point. Ages 3-up. (April)