Ruby in Her Own Time by Jonathan Emmett

Illustrated by Rebecca Harry.32 p., Scholastic, 2004.

Each child develops and her or his own rate. In this story, Mother Duck and Father Duck have five eggs. Four hatch into ducklings; the fifth takes a little longer. Thus begins the story's refrain: Father Duck asks, "Will it/she EVER..." and Mother Duck replies, "It/she will. In its/her own time." The fifth duckling, Ruby, takes longer than her siblings to eat and to swim. But when her siblings fly, Ruby flies too - farther and longer than her siblings. This time, Mother Duck wonders whether she will ever come back, and Father Duck reassures her that Ruby will, "in her own time." And she does, having become a mother duck herself. With its gentle, but richly colored, illustrations, this story offers reassurance that all paths of development can lead to happy outcomes.

Ages 3-6