The Case of the Strange Splash (Detective Duck #1)

by Henry Winkler, Lin Oliver, Dan Santat (Illustrator)

Overview

From New York Times bestselling creators—Emmy Award–winning actor Henry Winkler, children’s book author Lin Oliver, and Caldecott Medal–winning author-illustrator Dan Santat—comes Detective Duck: The Case of the Strange Splash, a hilarious, full-color chapter book adventure.

Willow Feathers McBeaver, aka Detective Duck, is a crime-solving (and very precocious) little duck. She and her animal pals live on beautiful Dogwood Pond, which is adjacent to Lazy Days, a human campground in New England. A pristine spot with clear water, abundant wildlife, and shady willow trees, Dogwood Pond is encountering puzzling problems—mysteries that arise from human-caused disruptions in nature such as water pollution, garbage, warming climate, and human encroachment.

Fortunately, Detective Duck is on the job, solving these puzzling mysteries before they get out of hand and destroy their habitat! Armed with her ever-present satchel for collecting clues, her logical mind, and endless curiosity, she boldly goes where no pond creature has before, determined to unravel the mysteries and solve any environmental problem that besets her beloved Dogwood Pond!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419755132
Publisher:	Amulet Books
Publication date:	10/17/2023
Series:	Detective Duck , #1
Pages:	80
Sales rank:	78,778
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Henry Winkler is an Emmy Award–winning actor, writer, director, and producer who has created some of the most iconic TV roles, including Arthur “the Fonz” Fonzarelli on Happy Days and Gene Cousineau on Barry.


Lin Oliver is a children’s book writer and a writer and producer for both TV and film. She is the cofounder of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and currently manages its charitable division.


Dan Santat is the New York Times–bestselling author of more than 100 books for children, including Are We There Yet?, After the Fall, and The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, for which he won the Caldecott Medal. He lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets.

Editorial Reviews

09/04/2023

Willow Feathers, a duck raised by a beaver, “loved to use her smart duck brain to solve problems” and believes that her curiosity will help her become a great detective. Her big chance comes in the form of a possible ecological disaster: a huge tire comes crashing into Dogwood Pond, which Santat (A First Time for Everything) renders in the style of the science fiction comics beloved by Willow’s salamander BFF Sal. “Don’t those humans care about how their trash harms our beautiful wilderness?” grumbles Harry the catfish. Willow deduces that the tire has been discarded from a human’s truck, then organizes Harry, her father, Aaron the heron, and Sal into a thrilling tire-removal operation, followed by a recycling lesson for the guilty human, portrayed with pale skin. Santat draws the quirky cast and their Leslie Knope–like leader with with oodles of affectionate exaggeration, and frequent collaborators Winkler and Oliver (Alien Superstar) give them lots of dad-joke–style dialogue (“Being ticklish is all in your mind,” Willow tells Aaron. “No it isn’t,” Aaron responds. “It’s under my wings”). With its promising, environmentally themed storytelling, this series starter is just ducky. Ages 6–9. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"The new Detective Duck series will go over swimmingly with young readers."

Booklist

"Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, the pacing and characterization are engaging, and the message about treating the environment with respect is a sound one. Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series."

—Kirkus

"The new Detective Duck series will go over swimmingly with young readers."—Booklist

"With its promising, environmentally themed storytelling, this series starter is just ducky."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2023-07-26
In this latest from actor and author Winkler and author Oliver, a little duck makes a big impact.

A lucky adoption has given Willow the duck a beaver dad, who encourages her to pursue her dream of being a detective. When a large saucer-shaped object crash-lands in their pond, Willow’s pal Sal, a comic-book-loving salamander; Harry, a depressed catfish; and Flitter, a dragonfly with a can-do attitude, jump to the conclusion that it’s an invading spaceship. Further investigation reveals a fiery red dragon and more spacecraft, throwing everyone into a panic. Only Willow asks the right questions, leading to the realization that the object is a stray tire from a truck. The plot now turns on an environmental issue: how to get rid of the floating tire, which is now interfering with pond life. So the friends form the Pond Squad and, with help from Willow’s dad and Aaron the heron, take on the tire. A subplot sees Willow attempting to shoo off Snout, a thieving, conniving weasel, by pelting him with a rubber band and a ball; dealing with Snout looks like a job for the second book. Every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, the pacing and characterization are engaging, and the message about treating the environment with respect is a sound one. Santat provides intense, googly-eyed animals at eye level, and Willow pops in bright yellow.

Mystery-loving readers will quickly detect the advent of a promising series. (Chapter book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews