Duck & Company
Reviews and Recommendations
"Duck and Rat co-own a bookstore, and this easy reader's five chapters offer a charming glimpse into the highs and lows of their workaday life. When Cat comes in looking for "a book that tells how to cook rats," Rat hides. Enterprising Duck sells him a book on carrots, which are sure to make his fur shine. Mother Hen squeaks in with a pram full of eggs, leaving with the boredom-busting Terror Tales to Make Your Feathers Pop Out. Caple's ink-and-gouache pictures furnish funny, easily interpreted scenes of retail life, including a stampede of little critters arriving for the forgotten story hour. ("Don't worry," Rat assures Duck. "You can wing it.") Kids might envy these entrepreneurs: Each gets to take the brand-new title in the "Cliff-Hanger" series home to read. So what if the bleary pair sleeps through the following day without selling a thing? Time does whiz by "when you're doing what you love." Snap this one up–it's sure to fly off the shelves." Kirkus
...There are tons of visual clues embedded in the ink and gouache illustrations to help burgeoning readers work their way through the text, and a multitude of vignettes, partial-page panels, and lively spot art illustrations keep page layout exciting and reading unintimidating. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Author Caple has written a funny book that young readers will enjoy reading again and again. Colorful pen-and-ink drawings illustrate the text. Children's Literature
Lively pen-and-ink and gouache illustrations complement the humor in this enjoyable take on "doing what you love."
The Horn Book Guide
Fans of quirky humor will appreciate these short episodes from the bookshop Duck & Company. CCBC Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2008
...Charming illustrations done in pen, ink, and gouache echo the text's humor and draw in even the most reluctant readers.
School Library Journal
American Library Association "Great Elementary Reads"