Trying to find a picture book about that my mother read as a child in the 1960s. A lost baby duck called Patapon. Patapon’s family go to search and at the end of each picture page the mother duck says, “Patapon is lost and we’re lost too. ” Patapon is found after escaping from a corn field that machinery was harvesting.
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
‘Springtime for Jeanne-Marie’ by Françoise? Pub 1955.
The details don’t match exactly, however: white duck named Madelon (lost), white sheep named Patapon. The author did write other books with the same characters.
Try this: Springtime for Jeanne-Marie. “Jeanne-Marie and her sheep, Patapon, search for Madelon, the lost duck.”
Yeah, I had thought it was a Jeanne-Marie book too and had bought them for my mother but she was adamant that it is not this series of books. The lamb is Patapon in these books rather than a duck and the line ‘Patapon is lost and we are lost too’ does not appear, nor does the family of ducks.
A good attempt but not it I am afraid.
This may or may not be remotely relevant. But, on a Ukrainian site for teaching children English as a second language, there are a number of short, mostly traditional stories for children.
http://chytanka.com.ua/static/572.ukr.html
One (unattributed) story at the above link is called ‘Her Friend is Lost’. it is not exactly the same story: notably it is about an ant, not a duck; the ant is called Pat, not Patapon; and machinery is not mentioned. But it is set in a cornfield; the character’s friends search for and eventually find her; and it includes almost exactly the same phrase: ‘Pat is lost and we are lost too’. I wonder if there is some story that is the original on which both your mother’s picture-book and this text are based, or perhaps the picture-book was the original.
I looked up the story mentioned and it does have a lot of similarities. You may be right, it may be the origin of the storybook my mother remembers.
I asked ChatGPT 4.0 about your request and this is what it output:
“The book you’re referring to sounds like “Patapon” by Hazel P. Hedrick, published in 1968. It’s about a little duckling named Patapon who gets separated from its mother and siblings. Throughout the book, the mother duck indeed goes on a search for Patapon, and after several encounters and adventures, the duckling is finally found. “Patapon” by Hazel P. Hedrick was published by Abingdon Press.”
Hope this is helpful. You can’t always trust what an AI chatbot gives you, but thought this info might be a lead. Best of luck!
Patapon” by Hazel P. Hedrick, published in 1968 sounds really promising. I am searching to see if I can find a copy …wish me luck. Thanks Mary, I had never even considered asking ChatGPT. I will let you all know if I manage to find a copy.