Farmer Dirk and the Little Green Duck, Eric Ribbens’s beautifully evocative country tale, will delight all ages with its message of enduring friendship and love.
“Every morning and every evening, six cows lined up outside the little barn. … Every morning and every evening, the six cows waited for Farmer Dirk. And every morning and every evening, at the end of the line of cows stood a little green duck. When the cows swayed down the lane into the back pasture, the little green duck waddled along behind them. When the cows ate the good green grass that grows in the wet part of the pasture, the little green duck nibbled the grass too. When the cows sat in the shade of the cottonwood trees and swished their tails, the little green duck plopped down in the shade next to them. The little green duck was convinced he was a cow.”
In Farmer Dirk and the Little Green Duck, author Eric Ribbens writes of a life on a farm — the machines, the chores, the animals, the people, and the absolute delight of rural living. The little green duck is but one of the characters on the busy farm. You’ll also meet Clover, Pet, Bossie, Daisy, Crooked-horn, and Sarita—the cows that allow the little duck to think he’s one of them. And there’s Farmer Dirk himself, along with his loving wife, Annie, and—later on—sweet baby Betsy.
But the story is much more than a simple tale of a farm family and their daily lives; it’s also more than a story of the wonderfully fanciful duck who thinks he’s a cow. Ribbens has a knack for creating real people and charming scenes as he describes the many goings-on of a working farm, but perhaps his greater gift is the touching message he shares through his characters: love and friendship is unending.
Farmer Dirk and the Little Green Duck is a story to be enjoyed by children and adults alike—and read again and again. Its depiction of Farmer Dirk and his family—animals included—will warm your heart and stay with you long after you turn the last page.
For more about Farmer Dirk and the Little Green Duck, or to get your very own story about visiting the farm, click here: www.farmerdirk.com
