Eve’s Ducklings is a wonderful story of patience and kindness. Children can relate to Eve and her Grandpa visiting some ducklings at the lake and being amazed at their swimming, head ducking, fluttering their tiny wings, and other antics. Author Maria Monte has written a children’s picture book encouraging children—and their parents or grandparents—to approach animals slowly. Learn how she makes friends with the mother duck and two ducklings. This book is filled with illustrations of toned-down colors and natural hues and a simple message of how to approach the ducks slowly. Eve’s Ducklings is an easy-to-read book that parents can read to toddlers and one day, they’ll read it themselves. The story and the artwork are simple with a plain message on getting to know wildlife—from a distance.

Eve’s Ducklings is a full-color children’s picture book filled with pastel colors and interesting images. Illustrator Emelie Wiklund has created beautiful, stylized artwork for the book that invites children into the book while the story will keep them entertained. Using digital watercolors, the illustrator fills the pages with simplistic, but patterned people and landscapes. The illustrations are highlighted by their abstract and fluid, pastel colors. Author Maria Monte provides children with a lovely introduction to ducks and other waterfowl: Mother ducks can be aggressive and very protective while baby ducklings are cautious and tend to stay back. Children and their parents will receive subtle instruction on how to approach waterfowl and other wildlife and stay safe.

Based on Maria Monte’s trips to a local lake with her grandfather (or “Papou,” as those of Greek descent tend to call their grandfather) and on Emelie Wiklund’s walks to the local bird lake with her grandmother, the two authors have written a picture book titled Eve’s Ducklings. The story tells of how a little girl called Eve first sees ducklings at the lakeside. Eve longs to touch them, but her grandfather warns her to watch out for the mother duck. After Eve falls into the lake while trying to pet the elusive ducklings, they decide to go to the playground instead. So, while the ducklings start to explore their surroundings more and more, Eve stays away. How the story evolves from this point makes for intriguing reading that should motivate all children to be kind to animals.

The illustrations of Maria Monte and Emelie Wiklund’s picture book, Eve’s Ducklings, are delightful and serve to expand the text in a way that not too many picture books do. For example, Eve’s fall into the lake is told in pictures, rather than in words, which makes it all the more entertaining. By deliberately leaving gaps in the text such as this, the caregiver who is reading the book to the child reader, or the older child who can read the book for themselves, is encouraged to provide a suitable text of their own. In this way, the interaction between caregiver and child is enhanced, with their reading of the book becoming an opportunity for the asking of questions about and beyond the text as well as for both reader and viewer to recall similar incidents that have happened to them (and others) in the past. In short, Eve’s Ducklings makes for an inspiring read and one that is clearly worthwhile for all involved.

Eve loves going for walks with her Grandpa. They often walk to the lake where they watch the families of ducks. One particular group of ducklings captures Eve’s attention and she wants to pat them, hold them and hug them. But the ducklings skitter away in fear and the mother duck is quite vicious. Eve is determined, though, and even though the mother duck chases her and Eve falls into the lake trying to reach out to hug one of the ducklings, she really wishes she could show her love for the little ducklings. After a day at the playground, Eve and her Grandpa return to the lake. Eve still wants to show her love to the ducklings, but now she knows she has to find a different way to do this.

Maria Monte’s picture book story, Eve’s Ducklings, is a charming story about a little girl full of love and adventure. But, this little girl has a lot to learn about creatures in the wild, like the ducklings. The story is told in simple language, taking the young reader on a journey with Eve as she tries to come up with a way to show her love for the ducklings. Each idea is reasonable, but sadly rejected. The reader will reason along with Eve until a solution is reached, one that doesn’t harm the duck family, but still shows a young girl’s love and care for wild creatures. And what she chooses is also a choice made with care as she doesn’t give the ducklings what so many people do, something that actually causes them harm. Instead, Eve gives the ducklings and the mother duck something wholesome that will not harm them in any way. Beautiful illustrations. A great way to teach young readers about how to care for and love wildlife responsibly while respecting their boundaries and their unique needs.

Eve's Ducklings by Maria Monte is a 26-page-long children’s picture book about Eve, a sensitive young girl who would like nothing more than to pet the ducklings she visits with her grandpa one day in the park. But she soon learns that the mother duck won’t allow her to get close. So she goes on to do her thing and pushes her own wishes aside. In time, she finds other activities to fill her time near the lake. One day, she visits the duck pond again but doesn’t chase after the ducks, following her grandpa’s advice. Instead, she simply opens her pocket and throws food on the ground. And before long, she is rewarded with little ducklings that come by and become her friends.

This is a beautiful and excellent story with numerous lessons for children. It teaches them that wildlife species are not toys for our amusement. They must be respected and allowed to live in their natural environments. It also teaches children about delayed gratification. While Eve still wanted to pet the ducks in the worst way, she learned to focus on other things while enjoying her days near the duck pond. Eventually, she is rewarded for her patience, and just by staying still, she learns that the ducks will come to her and allow her to feed them. I love the colorful artwork and brilliant detail that transport the reader throughout the story. Eve's Ducklings by Maria Monte is highly recommended for young readers who enjoy colorful stories.