ASO READER’S NOTES
TITLE:
The Duck and the Darklings
AUTHOR:
Glenda Millard, Illustrations by Stephen Michael King
PUBLISHER:
Allen & Unwin
PRICE:
$24.99
ISBN:
9781743312612
PUBLICATION DATE:
April 2014
AUDIENCE:
4-8
READER:
Carolyn Walsh, Allen & Unwin
SYNOPSIS
A light shines in Grandpapa’s eyes when he remembers how beautiful the world used to be.
In the sorry land of Dark, Peterboy searches for something wonderful to keep that light in
his grandfather’s eyes. Instead he finds a wounded duck. Grandpapa mends Idaduck from
top to tail, and in return she keeps him company. But Idaduck knows the call of the seasons
and, come winter, she must fly away. All Grandpapa’s stories of the beautiful lost world do
not warm her enough to make her stay. So Peterboy and all the children give her a fine
farewell. In their candle-hats they sing and dance till the moon goes down, and when the sun
comes up, they see their once ruined land transformed by trees and flowers.
The Duck and the Darklings is a triumphant story, for children and adults, about the coming
of hope in dark days, the warmth of friendship and the splendour of a new dawn.
AUTHOR STYLE
Glenda Millard’s writing is poetic and beautiful. She writes with a tenderness towards her
characters that allows readers into their emotional world. At the same time, she brings
together a rollicking, alliterative text, with language that is bouncy and innovative,
(featuring invented words ‘disremembered’ and surprising phrases ‘his spidering fingers
crept into cracks and crevices’.
Unsurprisingly - Stephen Michael King is equally at home with words and illustrations - the
pictorial style is a perfect match for a text that alternates between light and dark. King mixes
simple line drawings with atmospheric silhouettes, and rich, glossy swathes of black with
simple, stark areas of white. Bright reds, yellows and oranges (representing the sun) make
small but dramatic appearances in the early part of the story, and increase in prominence as
the story develops and as the kindness shown to Idaduck brings hope and light to the world.
IN THE AUTHOR’S OWN WORDS
Glenda Millard believes that The Duck and The Darklings is an essentially positive tale. ‘As
the story progressed I was conscious that there was an element of darkness. But I think I am
the glass half-full kind of person, rather than the glass half-empty. To me the focus of the
story was always on the light; the search for light, the quest for light, the understanding that
light exists even if we can’t always see it. Perhaps light in this story could be
interchangeable with goodness or love.
‘Peterboy, the child in the book, is the seeker of light. It is his quest and his tools are faith,
hope and love. Idaduck, one of the three main characters, represents someone not of our
kind. Someone alien to us, perhaps a refugee. It is Peterboy who begs his Grandpapa to
share what little they have with this creature in need, Peterboy who demonstrates kindness,
sharing and who eventually recognises the importance of freedom. It is the child and the
refugee who ultimately galvanise an entire community, bringing them together to the light.
‘I had absolute faith that if Stephen agreed to illustrate this book he would bring the required
light to it in a visual sense. And he has done exactly that; beautifully and simply, uniquely
and imaginatively. In the text the darkness is never deliberately identified. It might be war, it
might be land degradation, it might be global warming, it might even be fear or depression.
As we know, every reader makes a story his own, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity or a
myriad of other influences. And so the dark will be a different type of darkness depending
on the reader.
‘The Duck and The Darklings is a multilayered story. These are the kinds of stories I love to
write, especially in picture book form. I write with the knowledge that picture books are
often a shared experience between an adult and a child. I have been that adult, many times,
with four children of my own. And what a pleasure it was to find a book that spoke not only
to the child but also to the older sibling, the parent, the grandparent, the teacher, the
librarian.’
AUTHOR BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Glenda Millard is the author of many acclaimed novels and picture books, including
Lightning Jack, illustrated by Patricia Mullins, which was shortlisted in the 2013 Children's
Book Council of Australia awards. Stephen Michael King has illustrated, written and
designed many splendid books for children, including Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat and
Bella's Bad Hair Day. The books they have made together include Applesauce and the
Christmas Miracle, The Tender Morsels of Saffron Silk and other books in the Kingdom of
Silk series.
When writing, Glenda says she tries to clear all the day-to-day clutter out of her mind so that
fresh ideas can float through; she allows her stories to come to her rather than chasing after
them. She thinks about her characters a lot, trying to understand what makes them the way
they are and to find out how they would express themselves. One day she rescued a swan
with a droopy neck from a lake called Lake Tom Thumb, so perhaps that was the inspiration
behind the duck in this story...
EDUCATIONAL APPLICABILITY
Themes include: hardship, memories, family, love, letting go, community, regeneration
Suggestions for discussion and classroom activities:

Before reading The Duck and the Darklings ask students to consider the title and
cover design. What sort of story do students expect this to be? Do they think it will
be happy or sad? Who will it be about and what might they do in the story? What
things in the cover make them think this? (Encourage students to look at the colours
that appear on the cover, the type used for the title, including the little daisy over the
letter i, and the illustration of Peterboy and Idaduck.)

Look at the first double page spread where the author writes that Peterboy’s home is
‘built with care, lit with love.’ What images show us care and love here? What
images in your home would you draw to show care and love?

Turn to the second double page spread, beginning on the left hand-side with the word
DARK. How has the illustrator shown here the idea of DARK? In your answer
consider his use of colour (or lack of it), the size of the words, the fact that they are
reversed out of black. Now look at the right hand-side of the page and consider the
way the illustrator has chosen to show the finding fields. How do colour, silhouettes
and perspective work to show a ‘ruined world’here?

Turn to the page beginning with the words, ‘So Idaduck stayed.’ What in the pictures
show that Idaduck flourishes with the tenderness shown by Grandpapa? Explain in
your own words what Idaduck gives back to Grandpapa in return for his kindness.

The author uses alliteration to give the story more depth and make it enjoyable to
read and listen to. Find as many examples of alliteration as you can in the story.
(Once complete encourage students to look around their classroom or playground to
come up with their own examples of alliteration. Place the best examples on
cardboard and decorate your classroom with them.)

Some words in the story are made-up by the author, such as ‘disremembered’ and
‘yellowly’. Why do you think she has done this? Find as many made-up words as you
can and describe what you think they mean.

At the end of the book the Darklings see a world that is ‘dressed anew in flowers and
forests.’ Look at the way the illustrator has drawn this idea and the colours used and
then try your hand at imagining what the Darklings would see and draw it yourself.
Remember! Think about the things they would see and the colours that might appear.

General Class Discussion: What do you think happened to the world that made the
Darklings have to live underground?

Continue the story where it left off in the book. You might like to think about what
will happen to Idaduck next or Grandpapa and Peterboy.
MARKETING AND SELLING POINTS

Written and illustrated by much-loved and respected creators of children’s literature.

The Duck and the Darklings will feature prominently in both the primary and
secondary Allen & Unwin newsletters.

Review copies of The Duck and the Darklings will be mailed broadly to relevant
media.

A specially produced postcard will be inserted in the March issue of Magpies AND
will be sent to Australian primary schools across the nation.

There will be a prominent display at the CBCA 2014 conference for The Duck and
the Darklings.