Duck! by Mr. Steve is a fun, fast-paced phonics story that turns a simple lesson into something funny for kids to read aloud. The letter 'd' sits down in an open field on a bright day to tell the letter 'a' all about its exciting day, working through a whole list of fun 'd' words like donut, dad, doll, and dress. Poor 'd' can never get a word in. The second he opens his mouth, someone shouts 'DUCK!', and 'd' has no idea where it's coming from or why it won't stop. Poor 'd' gets more and more frustrated, convinced someone is trying to sneak a quacking duck into every single sentence. Will 'd' ever manage to finish the story, or is this one destined to end in chaos?

Duck! by Mr. Steve is a clever little book that turns basic phonics practice into something kids will actually want to read again and again. Mr. Steve builds the whole story around speech bubbles, which gives it a quick, back-and-forth rhythm that's perfect for reading aloud with little ones. Watching 'd' go from a calm, happy storyteller to an increasingly wound-up character who just cannot understand why everyone keeps yelling about ducks is funny, and it's a nice surprise to see that much personality packed into such a short book. The illustrations by Klaire Gieleghem add a lot to the humor too, with plenty of little visual details that let kids in on the joke a beat before poor 'd' catches up. It builds nicely toward a fun physical twist at the end that ties the whole misunderstanding together. This is a brilliant pick for early readers working on their 'd' sounds, and an entertaining one for parents to read along with them too.

Find out what happens when two friends are having a conversation and a duck decides to gatecrash their meeting without warning in this delightful picture book for children by Mr. Steve. Duck! opens with one of the friends talking about eating a donut when, all of a sudden, the other friend sees a duck flying over them. The one who sees the duck tries to tell his friend what he saw. But his friend simply isn't willing to listen. He keeps talking about other things. These "other" things include getting a gift from his dad, a doll and its dress, the family dog, or his mom's favorite dish. Finally, when he is about to stop talking, he sees what his friend was warning him about all along.

Duck! is a brilliant way to teach children about the letter "D" and all the words that start with it. Early readers will have fun with this book. The book is easy to read, the illustrations are captivating, and the story is so funny. Mr. Steve keeps a light-hearted narrative tone and uses humor to great effect. It makes sure that young readers find the story hilarious and that their attention is not diverted. The characters are silly, and it only makes them even more endearing to the reader. Klaire Gieleghem's artwork complements Mr. Steve's comedic storytelling brilliantly. The drawings are cartoonish, and I'm one hundred percent sure kids will love them. They make the characters' personalities shine. It was a short read, but it definitely put a smile on my face. I highly recommend parents read this book to their young ones.