Other fun, educational books and a musical!

In the meantime, check out other books for younger kids by the author and his family at TheCanDoDuck.com and learn about Can Do Duck the Musical, the 2015 Off-Broadway hit, created by the author's Can Do daughter, and featured in The New York Times!

By Laurel Graeber

Feb. 19, 2015

‘Can Do Duck: The Musical’

President Obama might be interested to learn that he’s not the only one to win big with a “Yes, we can” philosophy. A comparable mantra is helping a little duck in the East Village, though he’s not running for office — at least not yet.  He stars in “Can Do Duck: The Musical,” created and directed by Arielle Sosland. Ms. Sosland, a senior at New York University, has based the show on “The Can Do Duck,” the first book in a self-published series by her father, Dr. Morton Sosland, a child psychiatrist. Writing under the nom de plume (emphasis on plume) of Ducktor Morty, Dr. Sosland enlisted his daughters to illustrate his book when they were small. 

A similar dynamic plays out onstage as the show’s fictional dad asks his little girl, Sarah, to help him figure out what his new manuscript lacks. Sarah decides that the book, a children’s story, needs pictures, and as she draws them, they take shape and move on a large video screen behind her. (Hala Alhomoud designed the whimsical animations.) At the same time, energetic young adults act out the book’s narrative, which concerns the confidence that all ducklings — and humans — need before they can leave the nest. Although tales encouraging children to believe in themselves have been around since a certain little engine scaled a mountain, Ms. Sosland has enlivened this well-worn message with comical staging — ducklings are funny when they walk and even funnier when they’re struggling to — and a more expansive plot than that of her father’s storybook. Instead of one duckling, the musical features a quirky five, and a couple aren’t above a bit of sabotage when they think their formerly meek brother — the Can Do of the title (Max Hoffman) — has been puffing out his chest feathers too much.