The Case of the Strange Splash (Detective Duck #1)
by Henry Winkler (Author) Dan Santat (Illustrator)
From New York Times bestselling creators--Emmy Award-winning actor Henry Winkler, children's book author Lin Oliver, and Caldecott Medal-winning author-illustrator Dan Santat--comes Detective Duck: The Case of the Strange Splash, a hilarious, full-color chapter book adventure.
Willow Feathers McBeaver, aka Detective Duck, is a crime-solving (and very precocious) little duck. She and her animal pals live on beautiful Dogwood Pond, which is adjacent to Lazy Days, a human campground in New England. A pristine spot with clear water, abundant wildlife, and shady willow trees, Dogwood Pond is encountering puzzling problems--mysteries that arise from human-caused disruptions in nature such as water pollution, garbage, warming climate, and human encroachment.
Fortunately, Detective Duck is on the job, solving these puzzling mysteries before they get out of hand and destroy their habitat! Armed with her ever-present satchel for collecting clues, her logical mind, and endless curiosity, she boldly goes where no pond creature has before, determined to unravel the mysteries and solve any environmental problem that besets her beloved Dogwood Pond!
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Kirkus Reviews
Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series.
Booklist
Publishers Weekly
Willow Feathers, a duck raised by a beaver, "loved to use her smart duck brain to solve problems" and believes that her curiosity will help her become a great detective. Her big chance comes in the form of a possible ecological disaster: a huge tire comes crashing into Dogwood Pond, which Santat (A First Time for Everything) renders in the style of the science fiction comics beloved by Willow's salamander BFF Sal. "Don't those humans care about how their trash harms our beautiful wilderness?" grumbles Harry the catfish. Willow deduces that the tire has been discarded from a human's truck, then organizes Harry, her father, Aaron the heron, and Sal into a thrilling tire-removal operation, followed by a recycling lesson for the guilty human, portrayed with pale skin. Santat draws the quirky cast and their Leslie Knope-like leader with with oodles of affectionate exaggeration, and frequent collaborators Winkler and Oliver (Alien Superstar) give them lots of dad-joke-style dialogue ("Being ticklish is all in your mind," Willow tells Aaron. "No it isn't," Aaron responds. "It's under my wings"). With its promising, environmentally themed storytelling, this series starter is just ducky. Ages 6-9. (Oct.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Lin Oliver is a children's book writer and a writer and producer for both TV and film. She is the cofounder of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and currently manages its charitable division.
Dan Santat is the New York Times-bestselling author of more than 100 books for children, including Are We There Yet?, After the Fall, and The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, for which he won the Caldecott Medal. He lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets.
JUV028000 - Juvenile Fiction | Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
JUV045000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Chapter Books
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV002280 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Ducks, Geese, Etc.
Ducks
Detective and mystery fiction
Habitat (Ecology)
Animal fiction
