THE DUCK WHO PLAYED THE KAZOO

A white duck, pictured alone on a wilderness lake, loves to play his kazoo. In this illustrated poem each stanza ends with a kazoo-like refrain, “Zu zu.” As the story begins, there is a brief mention that the duck has been left all alone, “since the hurricane blew, his only companion the shiny kazoo.” As the cold sets in, the lone duck packs his things and heads south. Eventually, he finds a river populated with brown ducks, who, after hearing the kazoo, invite him to stay. Friendships are forged and they explore the river together. As the season brightens into spring, the white duck invites his new companions to join him at his former lake and they do so enthusiastically. The paintings offer up lovely, ethereal landscapes and waterways painted in bright, seasonal hues, but the ducks lack dimension or realism in contrast. The point is vague, but seems to indicate the importance of friendship and new beginnings after a loss. This underwhelming rhyme would have been better suited to one in a collection of children’s poetry, but there could be some satisfaction in its reassuring message. (Picture book. 2-5)