The Great Peach Experiment: Duck, Duck Peach

By: Jamie Steinberg

The Great Peach Experiment: Duck, Duck Peach is a sweet read – no pun intended. Right from the first page you are endeared to the Peach family and find yourself dreaming about staying in their B&B (aka the “Peach Pit). When The Festival of Ships comes to town with the promise of “The World’s Largest Rubber Duck” in attendance, the Peach family finds their lodgings quickly fully booked and lots to do. Unfortunately, things go awry quickly as the visitors at the Peach Pit need a lot more attention than the Peaches planned and add to that a missing large rubber duck and you have yourself quite the read! Author Erin Soderberg Downing beautifully highlights her hometown of Duluth, Minnesota while filling your imagination with life with the Peaches.

Every Peach has their place for The Festival of Ships. Herb, the youngest, is an entrepreneur who already has a food truck event in place for the event with their Great Aunt Lucinda. They will also be teaming up to be a part of the event as they will be selling pies that his father bakes. Lucy is in charge of the B&B and making sure the guests are attended to, but when she learns of a fishing contest she is determined to conquer her seasickness and take part as a way to honor their late mother. Lucy’s other brother Freddy was maybe the most excited for the floating duck’s arrival. He has plans for the community to come together to build “The World’s Largest Cardboard Castle” to give the newcomers to town and local residents another attraction. A snag arises though when a storm comes to town and washes out the food truck area, makes Freddy’s cardboard castle creation a soggy mess and causes The World’s Largest Rubber Duck to vanish! What are the Peaches and the residents to do?!

Downing gives young readers a wonderful mystery to explore and a beautiful book about the bonds of family. Certainly, you’ll find yourself with a craving for pie as well. My one qualm lies with magician Evan who can’t seem to find his manners or make his tricks work properly. Otherwise, The Great Peach Experiment: Duck, Duck Peach is a perfectly precious read for all those who pick it up.