Oh, how I love New York Times Bestseller Duck Soup by Jackie Urbanovic! It is so funny and I'm very pleased with myself that I went to our local library and can now say I completed Book #3 of Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge. http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/ I hope you'll join us. Mine is the mini challenge and I should be able to conquer my goal this new year being that most books on my list are picture books!

Product Details

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins (January 8, 2008)
ISBN-10: 0061214418

Review

"Children will laugh out loud at the antics in this story." -- School Library Journal

"Genuinely funny. Urbanovic’s vibrant watercolor and pencil illustrations are humorous and expressive. Adults looking for a read aloud choice that will really ‘quack up’ their audience will find this title just ducky." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Like the first Max story, the cartoon cover is irresistible and the comical illustrations spice up the clever story. As silly and funny as the Marx Brothers movie of the same title." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Urbanovic creates a slapstick delight with her wildly expressive characters and expertly conveyed physical comedy. Like its best-selling predecessor, this is sure to be a read-aloud hit." -- ALA Booklist

About The Book:

Right away we are introduced to the main character, Max the duck. He begins cooking this amazing soup because he has cooked many other delicious kinds of soup before. Maxwell Duck feels something is not quite right with his new creation. Having previously sipped a sample while stirring his soup, he decides a very necessary herb is needed from his garden to make his soup perfect!

Later on towards the middle of the book, we are introduced to several more character who are Max's pals. There's Brody the dog and Dakota cat. The story line moves along and the plot thickens... almost literally! You see, those two pals now believe their friend Max fell in the soup! While they grab the ___ well, you've just got to check out this one and read it to the very end. It's really a very good story and a funny one at that! 5 stars!

Duck Soup

I have very fond memories of my mother preparing this Greek soup for me on a chilly day to warm me up inside!

Papou's Greek Soup

6 (14oz.) Cans Swanson’s Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
3 Stalks Celery, Chopped
Cavendar’s All Purpose Greek Seasoning
(yellow, red & white bottle found at Safeway, Cost Plus World Market or specialty food markets)
½ C. Long Grain White Rice
4 Large Eggs
Juice of 2 Lemons (use the softest ones you can find)

In a large pot, add chicken broth and celery and bring to a boil, season broth to taste with Greek Seasoning.
In a fine sieve strainer, rinse rice under cold running water for about 1 minute until water runs clear. This removes some of the starch from the rice so that it doesn’t become sticky in your soup. Add rinsed rice to broth and cook over med. heat until rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, separate eggs with yolks in a small bowl and egg whites in a very large mixing bowl. I use my Kitchen Aid mixing bowl. Whip whites with a mixer or your Kitchen Aid until you get soft peaks. Set egg whites aside. Add the juice of 2 lemons to the egg yolks and mix well with a fork.
Once rice is tender, turn off heat and let the broth cool for about 30 minutes. This is important so that when you add the eggs to the broth, it doesn’t curdle into scrambled eggs. When broth is cool, ladle the broth, leaving rice in bottom of the pot, into your egg whites, mixing on medium speed until all broth has been incorporated. Add egg yolk mixture to the broth and egg whites and mix again on medium speed until soup is completely combined and has a creamy light yellow appearance. Before serving, return all soup back to the soup pot and re-heat until hot, stirring often. Serve immediately. If you have leftovers the next day, you may need to add a little water, as soup tends to thicken overnight.