Hi! My name's Carol and I'm going to tell you all about the pictures in this crazy book, Sitting Ducks, which is written by Michael Bedard. There's a big picture on the front of it, with a load of ducks sitting on what looks like a pavement on wheels. They're really comical white ducks, all exactly the same with big egg-shaped heads and eyes like raisins, enormous yellow beak and feet, skinny neck and round body, with the feathers on the ends of their wings rather like fat fingers. One of them is looking at an egg that's falling, just to the side of the pavement.
Now turn the cover of the book, and you'll find your first Feely Picture. There are five shapes here: five white ducks with big yellow beaks and feet, taking various forms of exercise. Let's go to the one at the top left: do you know what he's doing? His arms are pointing up, his feet feel his toes are pointing down; he's jumping, of course. The arms and legs of the duck in the middle of your feely picture are out to his sides he's running along towards the binding. The duck at the top right is skipping: feel the rope over his head, with its red handles clutched in the duck's sweaty paws I mean, wings. The duck below the skipping duck is doing sit-ups: he's sideways on, facing the right, sitting on his bottom with his feet out in front of him, and he's in that awful position halfway between lying down and sitting up straight very painful, I can tell you. His arms are stretched out in front of him as he tries to reach his toes. The final duck, at the bottom left of your Feely Picture, is the weight lifter. He is standing face on to us with the dumbbell on the ground in front of his feet. Feel the big black dumbbell, a pole with a heavy weight at either end, with the duck behind as he prepares to lift it. Feel his big round tummy, and his arms and fingers (or are they feathers?) stretched out on either side as he gets ready to grab the dumbbell, lastly feel over his face.
All these ducks are working so hard to be fit enough to fly, the poor things must be exhausted. Still, it's worth it wouldn't you do it if it would help you to fly to Paradise?