Waiting in the Wings
by Julie Andrews (Author) Eg Keller (Illustrator)
Inspired by a true event, the tale of a duck family waiting in the wings for their moment in the spotlight--from the #1 bestselling mother-daughter team of musical icon Julie Andrews and author Emma Walton Hamilton!
Mr. and Mrs. Puddleduck have found the perfect place to nest: a cozy planter by a theater in a sunny seaside village. While Mrs. P is warming the eggs, Mr. P is drawn to the spellbinding songs, fabulous, feathered costumes, and dazzling dances he's secretly watching during rehearsals. He's even showing off some fancy new footwork to Mrs. P! But it turns out he's been learning much more than how to put on a show. When the chicks begin hatching right by the roadside, it takes a chorus line of parading performers--and Mr. P's clever choreography--to come to the rescue!
From the bestselling mother-daughter team musical icon Julie Andrews and author Emma Walton Hamilton comes a delightful story inspired by the true tale of ducklings who stopped traffic and charmed a community, all the way to their splashy grand finale!
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ALA/Booklist
The imaginative, digital illustrations will draw children to this appealing picture book. “Bravo!”
Kirkus
Adorable, enchanting, and very ducky indeed.
Publishers Weekly
Per a creators' note, nesting ducks at a Long Island community theater inspired Andrews and Walton Hamilton's latest high-spirited collaboration. Looking for a safe place to lay eggs, Mr. and Mrs. Puddleduck "waddled and toddled... pottered and padded" around town before settling into flower box outside a lively theater. While Mrs. P protects the nest, Mr. P ventures into the building, watching feather-fan-waving performers whose "spellbinding story, with sensational songs and dazzling dances" inspires his enthusiastic, and noticeable, response. But when the hatched ducklings' arrival upstages Mr. P's dramatics, performers and Puddleducks alike must herd the hatchlings safely to the water in a "fabulous, feathered finale." Alliterative prose and over-the-top humor render a lively farce, while Keller's texture-rich digital artwork presents spindly human figures of various skin tones with expressions and body language that elevate the story's high-kicking energy. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
Praise for The First Notes:
* "A charming collaboration that strikes just the right notes." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Gentle yet expressive illustrations pay tribute to these accomplishments with square patterns, illuminated manuscripts, and other cultural details from the time period. Note-able, indeed!" —Booklist, starred review
"Andrews and Hamilton's step-by-step prose, and Fedele's colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor illustrations of vibrant Italian landscapes...successfully combine to evoke strong emotions around Guido's eventual success." —Publishers Weekly
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV013060 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | Parents
JUV031000 - Juvenile Fiction | Performing Arts | General
JUV002280 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Ducks, Geese, Etc.
Picture books
Ducks
Theater
Animal fiction
