Captain Alfred is sailing toward home with a gift for his wife—a duck egg close to hatching—stashed in his fiddle case when a sudden storm tosses his boat about. When calm returns, the newly hatched duckling, Alfred, finds himself alone in one half of a broken fiddle case and drifting through the fog. As Alfred embraces an object (the Captain’s fiddle) floating in the water nearby it makes a beautiful sound. Meanwhile, the Captain’s wife worries about her missing husband. When the lonely duckling comes ashore, still clutching the fiddle, he encounters the Captain’s dog and the two bond over their appreciation of the fiddle’s music. That music brings the Captain’s wife to their side, while a final spread shows the Captain paddling a makeshift raft as the sound of his fiddle leads him home. An unlikely but successful pairing of fantasy and realism woven through the text and illustrations adds charm to this story of separation, reunion, and the magic of music. (Ages 4-8)

Expect something unexpected when a duckling lost at sea adopts a musical friend in a whimsical, heart-lifting story from Timothy Basil Ering.

Captain Alfred is sailing home with new ducks for his farm when his little boat is caught in an unexpected and mighty storm. Everything aboard the ship is flung to the far reaches of the sea, including the very special and beautiful duck egg he had nestled safely inside his fiddle case. But perhaps all is not lost: the little duckling stumbles out of his shell and discovers Captain Alfred’s fiddle, floating not too far away in the waves. And when the duckling embraces the instrument with all his heart, what happens next is pure magic. Through an enchanting read-aloud text and beautiful artwork, award-winning author-illustrator Timothy Basil Ering shares a thrilling and fantastical story of a farmer, a gentle old lady, a dancing dog, and one brave, tiny duckling that will warm the heart.