When Sarah Mackenzie told me about her upcoming picture book, Dear Duck, Please Come! I thought it sounded delightful. Now that I’ve read it, I can say it’s every bit as wonderful as I expected.

Story

Duck opens his mailbox and finds a letter from his friend Rabbit. The letter urges Duck to “Please come! I lost my tooth.” Duck, being the good friend he is, determines to help Rabbit find his missing tooth. So, instead of coming right then, he spends his time searching, collecting other animals to help along the way. I bet you can guess the adorable ending.

What I loved

Illustrations: While cover of Dear Duck, Please Come! has a bit more of a cartoony style, the interior illustrations are warm, textured, and absolutely adorable! The artist, Charles Santoso, even hid a tooth shape in nearly every scene, which young readers will love discovering.

Writing: Mackenzie is the master of lyrical text with just the right amount of repetition, making the story comforting a memorable for little ears.

Theme: This story isn’t really about a missing tooth. It’s about friendship. As Duck’s friends assure him, helping find Rabbit’s tooth is a “good-friend thing to do.” But what Rabbit really wanted was his friend’s company to help him celebrate. Which is also a good thing to do. I’d also imagine this story could be reassuring for a child afraid to lose their first tooth.

Free Audiobook!: I’ve never seen this done before, but there is a QR code on the back of the book. It leads to a page where two audio versions are available–one with page turn queues and one without. Both are expertly narrated by Sarah Mackenzie, complete with music and sound effects!

Dear Duck, Please Come! is sure to please parents and young readers alike, whether they’ve lost their first tooth or not.

*I received a complementary copy of Dear Duck, Please Come! from the publisher, Waxwing Books, without obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own honest opinion.