Little Blue Where are you? by Sally Morgan illustrated by Karen Blair

"One bright and shimmery summer's day Skippy Gillespie went out to play with a pitter pat of his small dog paws and a scritchetty scratch of his small dog claws."

Little Blue - the baby duck - is lost and even worse she is being hunted by an enormous cat named Rocky Road Jack. Luckily Skippy Gillespie and his friend Boofa Boy Jones are able to spring into action and save the day. 

Thanks to Fremantle Press for sending me a copy of this new book which has just been published. Here are the teacher's notes. Little Blue where are you? is a book I would read to a preschool group for enjoyment. There are lots of ideas in the teacher's notes but in my view it would be best select the ideas that suit your class or library group and not attempt every question or activity. This could also be a book you could adapt for a reader's theatre with older students presenting the story for the youngest children in your school. I am imagining doing this will the addition of percussion instruments as a way to add sounds to the story. Your art teacher could also use this double page spread showing sunlight on the lake as a lesson inspiration.

Publisher blurb: Skippy Gillespie is taking himself for a walk in the park – but he is not alone! Rocky Road Jack has followed him, and that nasty cat now has his eyes firmly on a tiny duckling. Will Skippy save the day, and will Little Blue ever get home to his mother?

Your young reading companion will hear some wonderful words (real and invented) in this story - shimmery, slashetty, quailed, charging, and frenzied.

Here is the review from Readings Melbourne:

• It’s made for reading aloud. Morgan’s bouncy rhymes are packed with playful sound words, and we can already hear little ones joining in by the second read. It’s the kind of book that gets requested again at bedtime.
• Skippy is a hero worth rooting for. When he spots a small creature in trouble, he doesn’t walk past. With his mate Boofa Boy Jones, he steps up to help. It opens up easy conversations with kids about kindness and looking out for others.
• Karen Blair’s illustrations are full of movement. Ears flap, legs stretch and water swirls across the page. Some words are even drawn to look like they sound. The characters’ faces show exactly how everyone is feeling, which makes this a lovely book for talking about emotions.

The publicity notes for Little Blue mention The Detective Dog series by Julia Donaldson; Dog Beach by Julie Murphy; and the Hairy Maclary series by Lynley Dodd. 

I previously talked about this book which is the first in this series also by Sally Morgan and Karen Blair which is where we first met Skippy Gillespie.

The Midnight Chew

Here are a couple of my own favourite books about ducks:

The Other Ducks

Just Ducks

Don't Fidget a Feather!