Giggle, Giggle, Quack - Picture Book

Bibliography

Cronin, Doreen. 2002. GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK. Ill. by Besty Lewin. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-689-84506-5.


Plot Summary

            GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK is Doreen Cronin's sequel to CLACK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE, her first book featuring Duck and the other farmyard animals. In this hilarious followup, Farmer Brown goes on vacation and places his brother Bob in charge of watching his animals. Farmer Brown left his brother detailed written instructions, the most important of them being to keep an eye on Duck, he was trouble. Mischievous Duck has ideas of his own. Duck takes his red pencil and changes all of the notes Farmer Brown left. Feed the animals becomes “Tuesday night is pizza night,” and wash the pigs turns into “Wash them with my favorite bubble bath, and dry them off with my good towels.” When Farmer Brown calls to check on his animals, his brother declares everything is fine. However on Thursday, which according to Duck’s new note, is movie night and the cows' turn to pick the film, the events change. The animals settle in to watch the film, The Sound of Moosic, when Farmer Brown calls again. All Farmer Brown hears on the other end of the line is “Giggle, giggle, quack.” That’s when he knew that Duck was misbehaving again, and he had to return home immediately.

Critical Analysis

            GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK has a very simple plot. It is not so much a story as a series of mishaps perpetrated by Duck against Bob. As the book progresses and we see Farmer Brown’s bother make mistake after mistake, the reader knows eventually Duck will get caught. The fun is in wondering how much Duck can get away with before he is found out. Duck is a character children will relate to, he is a fun loving prankster who likes to play jokes on people. In Farmer Brown children will recognize the authority figure and in Bob they see the person who falls for the jokes time and time again, without realizing he is being duped.

            The writing, like the plot, has a very simple style to it. The language works well for a read aloud book, and for young children reading their first books. There is a repetitive nature to the books as well, in a sense that every time Duck changes one of Farmer Brown’s instructions we hear him and the other farm animals laugh. For example, after the notes about washing the pigs and movie night the reader sees “Giggle, giggle, oink” and “Giggle, giggle moo.” This repetitive style shows that the animals are repeatedly able to outsmart Bob. It adds a sense of whimsy to the story.

            The setting of this book comes through in the illustrations. Betsy Lewin’s animated watercolor paintings create the world of the farm. Several of the illustrations are set on a plain white background. This helps to highlight what is taking place, and show it in greater detail. The other colors stand out sharply against this white backdrop. Lewin also uses dark black lines to good effect to show movement and emotion in the characters.

Review Excerpts

BOOKLIST review 2002: “…kids will love the silly, subversive farce, and Lewin's big illustrations with thick black outlines do a great job of showing close-up cows and pigs happily lolling on the sofa, splashing in the bathroom, and making themselves right at home.”

COOPERATIVE CHILDREN’S BOOK CENTER CHOICES review 2003: “The expressions on the animals' faces as Duck successfully pulls the wool over Bob's eyes - a hen smothers a giggle beneath her wing, while two cows share a smirk of delight -- invite children to share the joke in this amusing tale of good-natured trickery.”

Connections

•  Children who enjoyed this book will delight in Doreen Cronin’s other books featuring Duck including, CLICK, CLACK, MOO: COWS THAT TYPE ISBN 9781599610887, DUCK FOR PRESIDENT ISBN 0689863772 and CLICK, CLACK, SPLISH, SPLASH: A COUNTING ADVENTURE ISBN 9780689877162.
•  The Scholastic Storybook Treasures video collection entitled GIGGLE, GIGGLE, QUACK…AND MORE STORIES BY DOREEN CRONIN bring her books to life through animation.
•  On Scholastic’s website Teachers can find a Discussion Guide. The URL is http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=32427.