Duck! Rabbit! Reading Guide & Activities | Ages 12 Months–8 Years

Turn storytime into an opportunity to read together, create together, and grow together with this printable companion guide for Duck! Rabbit!, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld.

Designed for children ages 12 months through 8 years, this guide helps you enjoy the story at your child’s developmental level—without turning reading time into a lesson or quiz. Start by simply enjoying the book together. Then, return to the story whenever you are ready to explore its playful optical illusion, different perspectives, and lessons about disagreement through engaging questions and a reversible hands-on craft. 

Inside this 15-page guide, you’ll find:

• During Reading Tips to help children hear the two perspectives and see both the duck and the rabbit
• Age-appropriate After Reading Questions for:
• 12–18 months
• 18–24 months
• Ages 2–4
• Ages 5–8
• Guidance showing where to ask each question, which skill it supports, and how it helps your child learn
• A complete materials list and step-by-step directions for a craft
• A printable shape template and alternatives for families who cannot print at home
• An optional poem and simple magic-show extension for continued play
• Opportunities to build counting, vocabulary, comprehension, creativity, empathy, perspective-taking, and conflict-resolution skills

About the activity

The included template helps families create the shared duck-and-rabbit outline, while the remaining details are added with colorful construction paper and marker. Once the craft is finished, children can use it to perform a simple magic trick, recite the included poem, or invite others to decide whether they see a duck or a rabbit.

The activity brings the book’s central idea to life while supporting fine-motor skills, visual thinking, oral language, creativity, and an understanding that two people can look at the same thing and see it differently.

The goal is not a picture-perfect project—it is the connection, conversation, creativity, and time spent making something together.

This guide is a good fit for families who want to:

• Help children understand that people can have different perspectives
• Practice respectful disagreement and listening to another point of view
• Encourage children to use evidence to explain what they see
• Make storytime more interactive and playful
• Build observation, comprehension, and critical-thinking skills
• Enjoy a memorable reversible craft and simple magic-show extension

Please note

This is a digital PDF download. No physical book, printed guide, or craft supplies will be mailed.

You will need access to a copy of Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld to use the reading portions of this guide. The book may be borrowed from your local library or purchased separately.

This activity works best when the included template can be printed. The guide also provides three alternatives for obtaining the shape without a printer at home.

Recommended ages: 12 months–8 years

Format: Printable digital PDF

Length: 15 pages

Included activity: 1

Also included: Printable template, optional poem, and magic-show extension