"there once was a duck..."

I'm doing math here as I type (pause to finish the math problem) - ah, yes, I've just worked out that I do 75 storytimes a year (that's a conservative guess), and I read 5 picture books at most of them. On average, then, I'm reading one picture book out loud, to an audience, every day of the year. That number doesn't include the ones I read to myself - I'd guess I read a few extras every week. Yet I never write about them. Here's a small effort to redress the balance:
"There once was a duck who had the bad luck to live with a lazy old farmer. The duck did all the work...." - that's from Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell. I absolutely love this story, and I've heard others say the same thing. The illustrations are fabulous, and the text is witty: "'Moo', said the cow. 'Baa', said the sheep. 'Cluck', said the hen. And that was the plan." I like this book so much that I get a little too enthusiastic sometimes. It's easy to play up the drama, and people respond well to the hush as the animals "creaked up the stairs" to the farmer's room. Then I get louder and louder as the farmer gets rocked "about and about and about", and very dramatic on the "and...he...never...came...back" (the ellipses are mine, natch. It's not a Barbara Cartland novel!). I've read this book as a tribute on International Workers' Day (though I didn't tell the storytime audience that!), and I think it's a good book on several levels. It has animal noises and a simple plot, but it really could be seen as book about a violent overthrow by the downtrodden proletariat. I'm happy either way.
I'd considered writing about The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Pinkwater and Bark, George by Jules Feiffer, too, but i think this is enough book enthusiasm for one evening. Goodnight!