Digby and the Duck

Max Landrak 

Lothian Children’s, 2018

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9780734417770

Digby is sure someone is watching him. It is just a feeling, but no matter what time of day or where he goes, he is certain that there are eyes following his every move.  Determined to find out who or what, he searches for clues, finally stepping in some poo that appears to prove his theory, and that sends him on a research search to discover what sort of creature does such droppings. But is the creature that he finally decides is the culprit, actually the spy?

Many of us will have had that weird feeling that someone is looking at us, but it is usually just a passing thing and we seldom go to the lengths that Digby does to discover who or what it is. But once he thinks he has solved the mystery, his world is back in balance and so this story sends a strong message about facing your fears, staring them down and getting them into perspective. So many of our young people suffer from anxiety of  real or imagined situations -in fact, some are like Digby and feel out of kilter if there is nothing to worry about as the ending of the story shows – so helping them develop strategies to deal with this is a critical pathway forward to learning.  Whether it’s doing research as Digby does to get to the root of the fear or talking about it with others to discover the particular fear is common or other strategies, until the feeling is dealt with satisfactorily it can become crippling.  

Ensuring our children’s mental health is safe is as important as their physical health so this is another one to add to the mindfulness collection, to be shared and discussed as we continue to help our students develop resilience as they learn how to deal with fear and anxiety.