Dear Duck, Please Come! by Sarah Mackenzie

Duck’s friend, Rabbit, has lost a tooth and the quest to find it brings together a party of loyal friends.

Dear Duck, Please Come! by Sarah Mackenzie and illustrated by Charles Santoso. Waxwing Books, 2025. 40 pages.

• Reading Level: Picture books, ages 4-8
• Recommended For: Ages 4-8

Duck finds a letter in his mailbox that reads, “Dear Duck, I lost my tooth! Please come. Your friend, Rabbit.” Greatly concerned, Duck sets about looking for his friend’s lost tooth. Along the way he is joined by badger, turtle, and squirrel who join in the hunt as good friends do. Their search is detailed and thorough, but to no avail. How can they go to Rabbit’s house without having been successful? 

The illustrations are really lovely, a rich colored-pencil style palette, adding warmth and detail. They have a classic feel like Tenggren’s story The Poky Little Puppy or Weisgard’s The Golden Egg. The text is longer than expected for the intended audience, but the details of their hunt are excellent examples of vivid and specific descriptions.

Children may catch on to the idea that the letter is an invitation, not a panic, and may enjoy catching on to the joke before the animals do.

Bottom Line: Dear Duck, Please Come! is a story for young lovers of forest animals or celebrants of losing teeth, or anyone who likes to practice being a good friend.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: Bunny’s First Spring by Sally Lloyd Jones
• Book Review: Make Way by Angela Burke Kunkel (a picture book biography about Robert McCloskey, author of the classic Make Way for Ducklings!)
• Resource from the Archives: A Spring “Story Tea” (a themed Story Tea appears in each issue of our Redeemed Reader Quarterly!)

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