Mother and Father Duck have five eggs in their nest and they are ALL special. Father Duck is worried about Ruby - she is slow to hatch and the last to eat and swim. But Mother Duck knows that Ruby will flourish in her own time, and sure enough, when her turn comes to fly, she is the strongest and steadiest little duck in the sky.

A warm and reassuring story that encourages children to discover the world at their own pace. Heartbreakingly beautiful, this is a very special book.

This book is part of a book series called Once Upon a Time .

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2004 by Pan Macmillan .

Jonathan Emmett is an internationally successful author and winner of the KS1 Stockport Schools' Award . Jonathan is also the author of THE SANTA TRAP for Macmillan Childrens Books. Rebecca Harry is a wonderful young artist who has already received international acclaim. Her previous titles include the ELLA ELEPHANT series and NOISY FARM BABIES series for Campbell Books, and the picture book RUBY FLEW TOO (1 405 00914 4) for Macmillan Children's Books. She lives in Wales.