Tickle the Duck!

The script of this book has the duck talking to your child and asking, er, begging, not to be tickled. He keeps pointing to a specific body part (tummy, foot, underarm) and asking to not tickle there. Then, since obviously your child will want to tickle him, the following page shows him laughing hilariously. Each of the featured body parts has a texture to it making it extra enticing to tickle the duck. This book is so much fun. Our toddler loves it and laughs right along with the duck. Tickle the Duck is a delightful interactive book that your child is sure to want to read over and over again.

Ethan Long's wonderful illustrations of an adamant duck demanding that you not tickle him under his wing, on his tummy, and on his feet are beautifully expressive, zany, and fun to look at. The humor is pitched perfectly at toddlers, and even this 36 year-old reviewer had to crack a smile the first time I glanced through the durable cardboard pages of this wonderful little book.

The Duck in question has ducky, feathery protruberances available for tickling through strategically-placed holes in the heavy cardboard pages. Thus, when the Duck adamantly demands that your toddler NOT tickle it, the temptation should prove to be simply too great to NOT reach out and give the down (more feathery in some places, softer in others) a little tug. At this, the Duck laughs, increasingly to the point of tickle-xaustion, as we call it in our house, begging to be relieved of the torture in progressively stronger terms. Never fear: when the Duck makes a quick recovery from tickle-xaustion, it reconsiders and deigns, perhaps, to allow you a brief tickle once again. With all the pathos of "Hug", the real-life verisimilitude of "Everybody Poops", and the roller-coaster ride of emotion of "Maisy's Train", this new entry in the tot-blockbuster potboiler pile is sure to please many a kiddie and perhaps their adult confreres: we have tested it on a two-year old and a forty-two year old to good effect, although it must be pointed out that our interactivity did in fact cause the 42-year-old to beg to stop being tickled without then asking again to be tickled. Not so with the two-year old. We just hope there's a books on tape or a large print version available soon we can give to Grandma and Grandpa by way of repaying the favor.

This is a cute book to read together with your child. The duck seems pretty adamant about NOT being tickled AT ALL, but then proceeds to tell you where NOT to tickle him. If you've ever tickled your children, you'll see the similarities. It'll keep you and your child in stitches, but be sure to use a funny, nasaly voice when you read it to them!

My almost-3 year old laughs out loud quite enthusiastically at this book! As they say, laughter is contagious and giving kids the opportunity to "tickle" the duck is great. There are lots of different textures for younger readers as well. This reminds me of Mo Wilhelms books (The Pigeon Drives the Bus)(also highly recommended) with the same sense of humor that adults will enjoy also.