Sitting Duck

In this hilarious Max the Duck book, children will delight in the silly mayhem that results when Max tries to be a good babysitter.

When Brody's niece Anabel comes for a visit, Max and the gang's only job is to keep her out of trouble. How hard could it be to babysit a puppy anyway? To Max's surprise, this fun-loving pup can't help getting into trouble—especially when set loose in the backyard. Turns out being a "sitting duck" is a lot harder than Max expected!

In this hilarious Max the Duck book, children will delight in the silly mayhem that results when Max tries to be a good babysitter.

Children's Literature

Max, the duck hero and his anthropomorphic friends, from previous amusing adventures, are looking forward to baby-sitting with Brody's oversize puppy niece, Anabel, with mixed feelings. The irrepressible Anabel cannot wait to play. And play they do, from dress-up and chef, to a wild game of ball, until Brody yells, "ENOUGH!" He sits down with her for a story and nap, but he is the one who falls asleep. Anabel asks Max to go outdoors with her. "...how much trouble could a puppy get into, anyway?" Max wonders. And away they go, swinging, then bouncing until Anabel bounces up into a tree. The whole crew attempts a rescue, with hilarious results. When Irene picks her up, they assure her that Anabel was "no problem," but the chaos inside and the exhausted Anabel tell a different story. The front end pages introduce the cast of characters as snapshots, while the back shots record some of the episodic chaos Anabel has caused. The exaggerated cartoon-y actions are visualized to generate laughter as Max, camera in hand, records them all. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Jackie Urbanovic lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, and shares her studio with two playful dogs and one lovable cat, all rescue animals who give her lots of love and attention.