Quick, Quack, Quick
Illustrator: Lisa McCue
Step into Reading book, Random House 1996
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The Story Behind the Story
My
son was a dreamy child. He came by it naturally. I was
a dreamy child too. Dreamy children follow a bug for ten
minutes instead of getting dressed for school. They get
soaked in the rain while counting raindrops. Dreamy children
are often told, "Hurry up!" or "Pay attention!"
The truth is they are paying attention, maybe not to things
most of us feel are important, but to things that are
important to them.
My son's dreaminess, his tendency to take his time, inspired
me to write Quick, Quack, Quick.
Quack
takes the time to appreciate the world around him, but
is a bit unappreciated himself, until the end of the story.
That's when Quack saves his family because of what he's
learned just by taking his time.
I started writing Quack's story in 1988, and began submitting it to publishing houses soon after. But it wasn't until 1994 that I received an offer for the story from Random House. My editor helped me transform the four-page lyrical text into a story that fit into Random House's Step into Reading line. I will always be grateful for her patience as a teacher and guide.
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| This book is dedicated to my son Calvin, the original Quack. |
From the Sonoma County Independent: "short and sweet, just the way young readers like 'em."
