The Ugly Duckling By A Pond

A duckling sits low in the water on this sheet, seen from the side with its beak pointing left. Its body is drawn as one smooth unbroken curve from the back of its head around to its tail, and a single wing shape is marked on its flank. That simplicity is the point. There is no feather texture anywhere on the bird, which means a young child can fill the whole animal with one color and still end up with a page that looks finished. A small tuft stands up from the top of its head and one round eye sits above the beak. Around the duckling the water is shown as two wide oval ripples spreading outward, each one a closed band that can take a different tone to suggest movement. Two reeds grow at the right, their stems thin and straight, each topped with a narrow cattail head. A couple of blade shaped leaves fan out beside them. Everything above the waterline is empty paper. This is the gentlest sheet of the fairy tale group and a sensible first page for a child who is still learning to stay inside the lines.