Wiggles the Duck desperately wanted to be a dog so she could take walks with the family, but when she shows her three Beagle friends how to get out of their pen, they all end up at the dog pound!

REVIEW

A Duck at the Dog Pound...Wiggles teaches a great lesson to young children about being happy with one's self. With humor, wonderfully simple art, and a deft touch, Susann Batson has created a lovely story for you children. I certainly hope to see a lot more from this children's author.

Reviewed by: Cindy Penn
www.wordweaving.com

EXCERPT

"Quarf! Quarf!" Wiggles shook her long white tail feathers as she practiced her barking that morning.

Wiggles wanted to be a dog. If she was a dog then maybe everyone would love her. She remembered when she was a duckling. The children played with her then and cuddled her all the time.

Wiggles lived in the back yard of the Wallace's house on Christopher Road. She had three playmates: Stanley, Shelby and Sidney. They were Beagle dogs. The four animals played in the backyard and slept inside the cozy dog kennel. Sometimes they all went swimming in the small pond at the bottom of the hill.

When Adam and Ashley came home from school each day, they would go for a walk with their mother, taking Stanley, Shelby and Sidney with them. If the children's father came home early, he went too.

But Wiggles wasn't invited. She had to stay home. All by herself.

It seemed like the whole family would be gone for hours on their walks. Wiggles would get very lonely. She'd hop up onto her soft bed and wait.

She sat up a little taller on her bed and took a deep breath. "Quarf!"

Well, it was certainly louder. She'd try one more time.

"Quarfff!" Wiggles' wings flapped, taking her into the air. Her orange bill bumped against the latch at the gate, opening it.