Duck Duck Moose
Published by Allen and Unwin 2019
“ This wonderfully simple book is loads of fun to read aloud and perfect for teaching children to read with expression.”
“This is one of those books that is perfect for encouraging littlies to read both the words and the pictures and tell their own story … it really does encourage interaction with the whole book and provides so much scope for language development, not just reading.
A true picture book where every element is interdependent and the key link between them is the reader and their imagination. ”
“It is the facial expressions and body language of the animals that carry the storyline in this clever and entertaining tale about forming friendships and trying to fit in.”
I had the idea for this book one day when swimming up and down in the outdoor pool.
Two ducks were bobbing around in the water and I started to think of the game ‘duck duck goose’. But for some reason I thought of ‘duck duck moose’. I imagined a moose, leaping into the water to join the ducks, when they were expecting a goose instead. And of course the ducks would be terribly disapproving.
Then I giggled, which was a mistake, because I was swimming freestyle and water went straight up my nose.
Anyway, after leaving the water, I sat in the café (waiting for my friend Jane who always swims at least a kilometre more than me) and bought a hot chocolate. Then I started to map out the idea for a picture book in my sketchbook.
Once I got home, I did some drawings and stuck them on the wall of my studio.
I liked my drawings, so I started to put together some roughs for a picture book. Then I put my rough sketches together with some words (using my computer) and created a very simple book. I showed this to my agent, and then to Allen and Unwin who liked the idea and offered me a contract for a picture book. Hooray!
Then I got going on some less-rough roughs.
I drew lots of outlines in ink as well as making scuffy marks in pencil and crayon. Then I photographed these marks and added colour on the computer.
This is a scuffy mark for tree bark.
These are bits of trees and logs
Here are some inky trees.
I developed Duck Duck Moose to introduce very young readers to the experience of reading independently. So, the body language of the characters carries the storyline, encouraging expression and re-reading. In the background, the sparse, landscape layout builds anticipation and helps teach reading left to right.
Final drawings below, using inky outlines and textures!
Here are the two ducks enjoying a bit of peace and quiet:
Until the big moose splashes in!
The orange moose and green ducks required spot colour and I wanted the overall effect to look like screen printing. I drew big characters and details in scubby ink, rough pencil and crayon, then photographed my drawings, layered them in Photoshop and assigned bright spot colours - yellow, orange and minty green.
Ducky outlines.
Lovely bright colour proofs (test pages) from the factory.
The key take-away from this book? Be nice to Mooses and Gooses!