Gold Seal, Oppenheim Best Book Awards, 2008
Children's Book-of-the-Month-Club Alternate Selection

From Kirkus Reviews
"Ducks in swimsuits. One with a float / One with a kite and cakes in a tote. / Five with towels—one towel each! / Five little ducks on their way to the beach." The five rambunctious, adventurous ducklings from Duck Skates (2005) return for a sandy excursion in Berry and Nakata's second collaboration. They dive and swim and splash in the sea. Back on land, they picnic and fly their kite. They play tag and leapfrog, and they try to catch a crab, with disastrous results. After watching the sun sink, there's time for one last dip in the ocean before they waddle home for a much-needed snooze. The rhythmic verse perfectly matches the wavering, swirling, beach-bright watercolors. As delicate as its wee principals, the intimate trim size and small compositions are best suited for lap sharing. After a read or three, listeners will chant right along, hoping there are more outings planned for this ducky family. (Picture book. 2-5)

From School Library Journal
PreS-K. Five adorable ducks spend a day at the beach. They are always on the go, and Berry uses one or two short snappy sentences per page to describe the action to reinforce the frenetic movement. “Ducks hit the shoreline. Ducks dive in./Five little ducklings bob and spin.” The fun is everywhere as these diminutive ducks, portrayed in little round splotches of color, radiate personality. The layout of pictures and lively, rhyming text complement the story perfectly. The dramatic pause after all five become submerged by a wave is underscored by a page with no text–only waves, represented by a tumultuous background of aqua decorated by watercolor swirls and five tiny ducks flailing about. All, of course, is well as they gurgle up to the top and repair to the beach for lunch. The day ends with a session of kite flying, a game of tag and leapfrog, then one last dunk before the sun sets. Then it’s off to home–a wash of warm pinks–for a good night’s sleep. This seasonal companion to the equally charming Duck Skates (Holt, 2005) is sure to be a hit. –Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY

From Publishers Weekly
Berry and Nakata's counting book in verse blends easy, punchy rhymes and light-as-air watercolor-and-ink illustrations to cheerful effect. The five round-bellied ducklings from Duck Skates now head for a day at the beach with kite, float, towels and a cake in tow. Pictures vary in size and shape, immediately drawing readers into the whirlwind of activity on shore and in the surf. The taut text follows suit: "Snippety snap! Quick claws pinch./ Two ducks yelp. Three ducks flinch." A full-bleed page of aqua, punctuated with the bobbing and spinning ducks, suggests the sense of endless sea; further on, four horizontal scenes across one spread replicate the slowly shifting colors of sunset on the beach. Repeated rhymes add a comforting balance to the spirited doings. A breezy delight. Ages 3-5.

From Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Why Stop at Six? a blog about books
...And then, while you're enjoying [A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever], you can add one more book to your [summer-time reading] pile, especially if you have wee toddlers and preschoolers in your vicinity. Fans of 2005's Duck Skates, written by Lynne Berry and illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, will be happy to know that the ducks are back for some summer-time fun at the beach in Duck Dunks (Henry Holt, May 2008). Those obscenely charming ducks play and dunk in the water after heading to the beach for a day of sun and fun and sand and kite-flying and picnicking. I love Nakata's work: There is a graceful, light-infused element to her illustrations that manages to scream ADORABLE, which wee children love, but she also manages to avoid too much schmaltz. These ducks could so easily look like they came from those old Current catalogs, but Nakata does it up right, creating their cozy, detailed world and giving each one ample personality with just a few swishes of her watercolor paintbrush. Berry's rhyming text captures the joys of playing at the shore and she nails the particular joys of wee children's very active summer play:

Bobbing, splashing, ducks swim out.
Waves come crashing. Five ducks shout.
One duck gurgles. Two ducks whirl.
Three ducks burble. Four ducks swirl.
Five little ducks dunks undersea.
Ducks paddle up now--"Look at me!"

So, there ya go. Two summer-fun titles.....

From Book-of-the-Month Club
Picture books just don't get any cuter than this! Hiroe Nakata's sweet-as-can-be watercolor illustrations and Lynne Berry's joyous rhymes marvelously capture all the energy and exuberance of a day at the beach! The adventurous little ducklings who slipped and slid into our hearts in Duck Skates are back and this time around they trade ice skates and snowflakes for swimsuits and waves as they take to the sea for lots of fun under the summer sun. These duckies sure know how to make the most of a day at the beach. There's swimming and diving (of course!), then picnicking and kite flying, and so much more. And with all sorts of bobbing, burbling, whirling ducky antics, this delightful storybook is sure to quack you up! (Ages 2-4)