TITLE: Ducks on the Farm

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: The author and illustrator of this book is Mari C. Schuh.

PAGES: The number of pages in this book with pagination is 24pgs.
GENRE: The genre of this book is Nonfiction.

LEVEL: This book’s reading level is N( nursery) and the age level for this group is ages
birth to five years old. The age level indicated by amazon.com for this book is ages four
to eight years old. This book is a nursery level book for a couple of reasons but maybe
the most obvious are that the book’s biggest word is ten letters long and it is the word
“Waterproof”, other than that the average word length in the book is about five letters
long and each page contains no more than three sentences and the largest sentence is
nine words long.

At the nursery age level, children are just learning to read. They are in their early
childhood years at this time. They are learning to say different sounds they need to
learn in order to pronounce the words they need to know. They are learning new words
to build their vocabulary but these words are specific to their age level. It is because of
this that it is important that the words are not too large, they don’t involve sounds that
are too challenging for them to pronounce that it causes more harm than good and the
words are also words that the child has to be able to not only say but identify and write
themselves.

We want to challenge the children a little as to help them improve their skill
however, making it too much of a challenge for them can actually have a negative effect
because it can cause them to not enjoy reading or to have a negative attitude towards
reading and at this age level especially, it is important that we encourage positive
attitudes towards reading and help give children the opportunities that will help them
develop the foundation they need to be good readers as they grow into the different
reading levels.

AWARDS: None.

ABSTRACT: This book is only one book of an entire series of books about animals on
the farm. Giving information about one animal at a time gives the author the opportunity
to discuss enough information about the animal without causing the child to feel
overwhelmed and to get information shared without taking so long that a child at this
age with a short attention span misses some of the information simply because they
can’t pay attention long enough.

This book offers a look into what ducks are and the life that some ducks live.
Feeding into the interest of the curious children that may pick it up, this book offers
pictures for the children reading them to see. Though there is more that can be learned
about ducks, author Mari C. Schuh does a great job of introducing young readers to the
basics of these animals. This book also offers a short glossary for children to look to
when they need it in order to truly receive one of the benefits of her book which is
learning new vocabulary. If the children’s interest in ducks is sparked the author also
offers a page about books from other authors about ducks and online sites that children
can learn more facts about these animals on.

EVALUATION: This book is a nonfiction book for children birth to five years old and is a
great example of nonfiction for young readers. There are a few reasons that this book is
a good example of nonfiction. The first is that the book puts an emphasis on facts and
concepts. There is not much text on each page but for the age level that it is written for
it is just enough text, the author uses the small amount of text she is able to get in
without overwhelming the reader to focus solely on the facts about ducks. All of the
information found in the book can be found online from credible sources. However, I
have the advantage of knowing these facts already because I am personally the proud
owner of three ducks myself. My interest in ducks was sparked at a young age through
books and interaction.

I own a duck named Aflac, another named Kodak, and the last is named Vanilla.
Aflac is older than the other two because he was rescued a while before the others
were. Aflac was a domesticated duck that a family that we knew owned and they had a
whole family of ducks. They took the best care of the ducks that they could but because
they could not leave the ducks inside all of the time, they decided to keep them outside
during the day when they were at work. However, the ducks slowly died off because of
being attacked by other animals despite the families’ efforts to try and keep them safe
while also allowing them to have their outdoor time to wander freely on the property.
Aflac was given to my family as he was the only one left as a last hope to save his life
from the animal's constant attacks.

The other two ducks were rescued as well, Vanilla was rescued from being
raised to be turned into food, and Kodak was rescued along with another duck from a
pair of teens that thought it would be so cute to own little ducks but then quickly learned
that these ducks would not be staying little and that they were a lot of work especially as
ducklings. They had been kept in a small plastic tub that you might see people use for
laundry because of the living situation where these girls were staying at. It was overall
not a good situation for these ducks and the girls showed little knowledge of these
ducks and dropped them off at my house one day without much warning and I took
them in, in order to provide Aflac with companions and to give these young ducks a
chance at a life outside of a tub.

Having these ducks has provided me with experiences to learn many things
about ducks and to educate other people I interact with that ducks are a great
responsibility and though they may be so cute as ducklings that they are not meant to
be kept in a box or a tub or only kept until they are no longer as small and cute. They
are just like dogs or cats, they have personalities and feelings, they have basic needs,
they deserve to be cared for but also given the opportunity to be what ducks are. Ducks
are messy, they love water, they love to eat their duck food, they do go to the bathroom
and they make loud noises. Their feathers are waterproof and this can make it hard to
bathe them.

Another reason that this book is a good example of this genre is that they are
truthful and reliable. This can be determined by this book because of the fact that these
facts shared in the book can be observed in real life, can be seen in videos/pictures,
and can be found through online reliable research. The book also has a section that
offers other books about ducks that are likely to mention similar facts and shows
websites that the children can access in order to learn more facts about these animals
which shows that the author did their own research in order to find these specific
sources of information to add to the back of the book to further grow the child’s interest.
The book also provided images to back up some of the facts that they share.

Though the book itself is about one topic (ducks) it is part of a series and the
series is a nonfiction series about animals on the farm and this series offers a wide
range of appeal to younger readers. This makes the series itself a good example of
nonfiction. Not every child will be as interested in ducks but they might have an interest
in other animals like kittens/cats, dogs, geese, and more. This series shows a variety of
animals which allows children to find at least one animal of interest because of the wide
variety.

The reading level of this book is N (nursery). This reading level has an age range
of birth to age five. This book's specific age range given by amazon.com is four to eight
years old. The reason that the book fits the nursery reading level is because of the
vocabulary used. Oftentimes if you enter an early childhood center, preschool, or a
kindergarten classroom you will see children working on literacy through being read to,
having reading centers for personal reading, having reading groups, or having reading
workshops to do. If you were to pick up one of the books, you would see that the
vocabulary used is oftentimes shorter words with an average of about five to six letters
long.
However, there are occasional bigger words that can be seen. This book uses
words with an average of about five letters in them with the biggest word being the only
word of its length in the book having ten letters. It is the word “waterproof”. The book
also fits the nursery reading level because during this age range that children are
learning how to pronounce different sounds that they need to know in order to say
certain vocabulary words. The children’s vocabulary is being developed more and more
at this time and they learn to make sentences out of the vocabulary they learn. With this
information learned they are then introduced to books, they are read books that are
shorter due to their short attention span and they are given the opportunities and
encouraged to read on their own. It is part of good child development that children build
their literacy skills. This book also might appeal to this reading level because it is a
picture book which feeds into children’s curiosity.

Children at this age need to have something that grabs and holds their attention,
this can be by tugging at their curiosity. However, if the child’s interest is not grabbed
then they likely won’t read the book and if it is but is not held then they are likely to not
finish it. Teachers can help keep children’s interest when reading to them but having
pictures can help teachers do so. Teachers are able to point things out in images or talk
about images to regrab the child’s attention if they feel they are losing it. Children at this
age are likely to not pick up and read things that are simply text and not illustrations of
some sort. That is why most books for children of this age range have illustrations. It
also helps children learn about things they didn’t know like new vocabulary words
because they are able to put an image to the words.

The setting in the book is a farm. The book mentions both smaller farms and
larger farms. It also mentions that ducks will often live near the water. In the images, it
can be seen that the ducks can be in a pin with a sort of bedding or on the grass. They
can have man-made nests. This setting is important to the book because this book is
about ducks and it is important to show the different things about ducks like the
environment they live in. It is also important to the book because the book's title says
“Ducks on the Farm” if it didn’t talk more about a farm in the book/didn’t mention it then
that would not make any sense for the book. It would also throw the book off because
where they live is part of what makes a duck who they are and it would be hard to talk
about a duck and not mention their environment.

This book is not told in the format of a story, there is not a protagonist or
characters in general really. The ducks are the highlight of the book and the book
revolves around them. The book does also mention humans involved and these people
are farmers. The book mentions how the farmers take care of the ducks. For example,
on page fifteen the book states that “Farmers feed corn and soybean meal to ducks.”. It
also mentions why farmers might have ducks, this can be seen on pages eleven and
thirteen where it states “Farmers raise ducks for their eggs, meat, and feathers.” and
“Some farmers raise ducks for hunting. Other farmers use ducks to train sheepdogs.”.

Ducks and farmers are the only “characters'' for this book. Due to the way this
book is written, characters are not developed in the same way as other books I have
talked about in past portfolio entries. Instead, their emotions are not the focus of
development but they are developed through detail of who they are through what they
do and how they live. On page four there is an image of a duck that shows the different
parts of the duck labeled. It is accompanied by page five talking about how they are
birds, are wild, and how some may live on farms. This develops what they are and the
reader's knowledge about them. I agree with this being okay because of the way that
the book is written, the genre, and who it is written for. It makes sense the way that it is
written and it doesn’t take away from the story just because it is different from other
books that use the emotional side of it to develop the “character”.

There is not a plot to this story, I say this because there is not a problem,
solution, or climax. There is not so much a theme to be learned but instead, like a
biography, we are learning about someone (in this case a duck) in a factual way. Just
like mentioned before there is no conflict in the story/main problem. The book is
educational and is supposed to teach about ducks instead of teaching children a lesson
or how to problem solve. Just because the book lacks these things does not make it a
bad book, just a different kind of book. Children need books of all different kinds
because they each bring their own good benefits, teach in different ways and they feed
children's interests.

One child might like nonfiction books like this one more because they are full of
facts about something they want to know and get right to the point. Another child may
enjoy poetry because the rhythm inspires them to take their own ideas to paper to
express themselves in their own creative way. Preferences are okay but that is why we
offer children a variety of different genres and books that are written in different ways or
have different topics. So children can find their own enjoyment in reading and we can
promote good child development in this area.

The vocabulary used is vocabulary appropriate for the readers this book is
serving. That means that the vocabulary is not too advanced, and that language is
appropriate. There are not any curse words used in this book especially since they
wouldn’t make sense in this book. No similes, metaphors, or things like alliteration are
used. There is not anything shared about taste or smell in the book. The author doesn’t
say “I see..” or something directly but it does say that ducks can live on smaller farms or
larger farms. The book says that they often live near water. It also says that farmers
may also use them for their feathers. So this does tell what they look like even if it’s not
direct. It also mentions sound at the end of the book by saying that ducks quack. The
book is descriptive because for the most part that is mainly what the book is doing is
describing ducks and their environment. It talks about the look of ducks, how their
feathers are waterproof, and describe the environment. I believe this book is third-
person point of view as the author either says ducks or they.

The book is about ducks and not people so if we are talking about diversity that
might look differently. The book shows different kinds of ducks but the different kinds
are not described in the book. That is about as much diversity is shown because of it
being about animals. Animals are great but they do not have sexualities and culture
necessarily. It at least doesn’t appear the way we would typically think of when we think
of humans. It is not disheartening because the book is informing children about a
creature that they can see in their world. It is focusing on one creature because we don't
want to overwhelm the child. Not everything is about humans and it’s okay to use
animals as examples of different things for children but it is also okay to have books
with a focus outside of diversity. Just as long as children are exposed to a balance of
different things including a good portion of diversity then it will be okay. There is no
controversial content.

For this book, I would say that the media used was either the internet or a
camera used for the illustrator to take these photos themselves. However, I am leaning
more towards the internet. However, I can’t say whether the author google searched
them or if they contacted someone specifically that owned the images to ask
permission. It does, however, look like maybe it was research conducted by a specific
person put in charge because in the back of the book it gives credits and there is a
name given and it says, photo researcher. This name is Deirdre Barton. I think that this
was decided upon so that they could have a variety of different images that showed
different kinds of ducks and so that the images were chosen carefully and purposefully
instead of just being thrown together off of one single google search.

I think that this works perfectly for this age group because we want them to see
the real look of a duck and a duck farm because they are just learning about the duck’s
from the book and we don’t want to confuse their ideas about ducks by telling them
facts and giving the image that doesn’t accurately show the things being talked about in
the book. When they get older and have it in their mind of what a duck looks like and
their environment then it will be okay to add a different take on their look because the
children will already know and will recognize that the illustrator is just adding a different
look. I think that these were added in by computer and that the “technique” has more to
do with how the research was conducted.

However, since I am not aware of how exactly the person in charge did so then I
will have to just say that the techniques used were the research and using a computer
program to put these images together. It is effective because a computer system allows
for people to brighten images if needed and doing research allows for the person doing
the research to find the perfect image needed through looking through a variety of
images and taking the time to look over everything instead of rushing through it making
the images purposeful.

Due to these being images of real-life things the lines depend on what was
photographed in each picture. However, for the most part, likes are pretty thin. Had
these images been hand made then the lines could have been thicker causing a more
cartoon-like look but as to give a realistic look for this nonfiction book the book uses real
images taken and these images have thinner lines. This helps give children the most
accurate look of what a duck or duck farm would look like so they can have the
knowledge for when they need it or need to identify one if they see it. The images are
realistic color since it appears the color wasn’t fiddled with much. They didn’t turn the
images black and white or have something highlighted pink. All the objects, people, and
animals are the same colors we could expect to see if we were there in person taking
images ourselves. Obviously, the images were probably edited slightly as to make them
more appealing but I think it might have just slightly changed the shade of the colors
and not the colors themselves. The color choice makes it feel real like you could
imagine yourself there in the moment. It creates a happy sunny day feeling kind of
moment.

Since the objects pictured are real-life objects the shape of them differs meaning
the shape of a duck is different than the shape of the wooden nests that were created
for them or the shape of an egg. The shapes of the objects in the image are the shapes
you would see them as if they were right in front of your face. Some things are sharper
like the wire used or like the edge of different objects. However, some things are
smoother like the duck’s feathers for the most part. Thanks to lighting and the clarity of
these pictures that were taken, the texture of the duck’s feathers was able to show and
the texture of the rocks or the duck’s bill was able to show as well. We are also able to
see the different hair textures of the farmers pictured. The rocky ground is rough and so
is the duck’s skin on their feet. The duck’s feathers going down their backs and their bill
for the most part are smooth. The texture just enhances the reader's feeling of realism.
The images make it feel like they are visiting a duck farm on a sunny day and seeing it
all for themselves. The bright colors add a happy and peaceful feeling.

The art is made up of images and these images would have to fall under the
category of representational because they are images of real-life things that one could
see if we visited a place with ducks or if we found a duck farm nearby and went. Though
it might not be exactly the same it offers a good idea of what we could expect. Like
stated before I think the illustrator chose this style because of these new readers
learning some of their first facts about ducks and not wanting to confuse them with
unrealistic images. The images are taken by a camera and they fit the representational
style because they show what farm and ducks looked like when and where those
images were taken and they represent what we could expect to see at other places with
ducks and duck farms even if they are not the exact same so they represent what could
be observed.

The images start with the first page. The first page is an image and the second is
text and it follows this pattern throughout the entire book. They are seen on single sheet
spreads and on every page that a picture can be seen, it is just one picture and it takes
up the whole page. The text does not take up the whole page because at max it is three
sentences per page. The front cover draws the reader in because it has a barn-like
wood on the front with a picture of an “Aflac” duck and this duck can be seen on
commercials on tv for an insurance company. It is likely that kids have seen it but if they
haven’t it can still draw them in because the duck pops out from its background because
it is a large white duck with an orange bill with large nostrils. I would say that since the
images cover the whole page that they are on it actually gives it a boxed-in feel because
there is no background to be shown and it feels like the edges of the page create that
feel.
The words are important because they point out the facts and show the reader
what they should look for when seeing the images. The images however offer the
reader an image to put the facts to and helps better their understanding of these
different facts. The images also help the reader to remember what they read after
reading. The images in a book like this one especially since it is for the nursery reading
level help keep the child's attention for the duration of the short book. Children of this
age level have a short attention span and they need something to grab their attention
but even more importantly to keep their attention so that they continue to read or listen
to the book and gain the full knowledge available to them. They have a good balance
this way and work together to tell the story. Without the pictures, children would have a
hard time remembering what was said and would probably not pay attention, without the
text the reader wouldn’t know exactly what the author was wanting to point out to them.
 This book is small and almost has a square-like shape. The pages are thin,
however, so I would say that it is appropriate that Amazon said that it was for ages four
to eight because that means that it falls in the higher ages of the nursery level. This
book is like a transition book meaning that it is helping children who were once turning
thick pages get used to the fine motor skill of turning thin pages. Then it also helps them
move to a different shape of book, a lot of the younger books are square so that it is
easier to hold but this one ever so slightly transitions to a rectangular shape. Giving
them a little more of a challenge to master instead of jumping right into the big change
in motor control.

This reflects the content of the book because the images for the most part are
almost square and having it slightly more on the square side allows the author to have a
little bit of text without the page looking unproportionate or the text having to be too
large. The page turns affect the book because the book goes picture first then text. So
each page has to be turned to reveal the next fun picture and the next few sentences of
text. I would say the images are what draw children at this age to each new page
because they are curious what they will see next. I agree with the writer and illustrator’s
choices because I think having the book set up like this works. I have seen children pick
up similar books during my practicum and they turned every page with excitement to
see the next image. I like that the amount of text is appropriate for the age groups
attention span.

I think that from my experience with books similar to this one that children would
be filled with excitement by the images. Depending where they are at developmentally I
have seen some children giggle with excitement, others who have had a disability that
affects their ability to speak I have seen clap or sign a word of what they have seen.
There was once a give reading about spiders in a nonfiction book we had in the
preschool room and she was so fascinated that her face lit up and she recognized that
she had learned the word spider before then she took my hands in hers and showed me
how to do the sign for it. It was one of the most amazing experiences of human
interaction I have ever had and it was this experience that drove me to want to work up
towards being a special needs teacher. I think that children might not pay as much
attention to the words they first look through because their excitement will get the best
of them. However, I think that they will continue to pick it up and each new time learns
more and more from it. This is the kind of book I could see benign in a reading center.

APPLICATION: I could see this book being in a reading center, in a small book group,
being read to a child/the child reading it, and being used during transition times for
literacy activities. I can see this benign bought for a child to read at home or located at a
school. I think that for this age level that there are two main activities that I would do.
The first is a worksheet that asks different questions like the one attached where it has
boxes and saws “ducks look like” and then they list what they learned about ducks like
their waterproof feathers or their bill or webbed feet. The other sections would have to
be changed to fit this specific book but the general idea is good.
 The children would be able to reflect on what they learned by answering the
questions but I also think that the sheet should contain a part for the child to ask a
question they have using the five W’s ( who, what, when, where, or why), this will allow
the teacher to find a way to build on their curiosity. The second activity is printing out a
diagram of a duck and then the child gluing the different labels to the part that the child
thinks it belongs to. Then the child can decorate the inside of the diagram with glues on
feathers and markers to make their own duck. The purpose of this activity is to allow the
children to model what they learned about the duck's appearance in a fun and creative
way.
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