Official Review: Kaitlyn a Wants To See Ducks

[anomalocaris]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kaitlyn a Wants To See Ducks" by Jo meserve Mach and Vera Lynne Stroup- Rentier.]

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This beautifully photographed little picture book follows Kaitlyn, a girl with Down Syndrome, on a visit to the zoo with her family. Kaitlyn’s sisters enjoy feeding the giraffes, finding the baby animals, and watching the lions and elephants, but Kaitlyn is on a mission to see her favorite animals — the ducks — and doesn’t want to waste time watching animals who can’t swim.

While this book specifically targets parents of children with developmental issues, and includes an informational section at the back of the book, the beauty of the story is that the actual narrative targets a much broader audience. It’s not about a child with a disability. In fact, there is no mention of disability in the story. It’s simply a story about a child learning a lesson in patience. Any child from preschool through the second grade will identify with Kaitlyn’s increasing impatience as the family visits one animal enclosure after another, before she’s finally allowed to visit her beloved ducks.

The photos are well chosen, emphasizing active images with which children can interact. For example, one image depicts the characters roaring and pretending to be lions, while another shows them making the ASL sign for elephant, activities children could easily imitate in the classroom or with a parent.

Images of the animals are sequenced seamlessly with the family photos, creating a wonderfully immersive experience. The photo sequences also render the book suitable for a multitude of developmental stages. Younger or nonverbal students will connect visually with the book, even if they are unable to follow the story on a verbal level. This would be particularly valuable in a special needs classroom, where it’s often necessary to engage students of widely varying developmental levels in a single group activity.

The information at the back of the book is a bit muddled. It details why Kaitlyn’s parents planned the activities in the way that they did, but falls a little short in conceptual clarity. A new edition might focus more on the concepts and less on relating the concepts specifically to Kaitlyn’s story (and also might clean up the typo in the credits). However, the book stands well enough on its own merit, and I can’t bring myself to take away any stars from this delightful little book.

I give Kaitlyn Wants to See Ducks four out of four stars.

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