In the new lightly spooky kids book 'The Quacken,' a duck threatens the peace of a summer camp

There’s something in the water at Cucumonga Campground. Is it a shadow, a boulder, or a giant duck?!

In Justin Colón’s new kids' book “The Quacken,” a peaceful summer camp is terrorized by a ravenous duck that swallows canoes and bike tires — and maybe even naughty children who don’t follow the rules.

Colón says the inspiration for the book didn’t find him, he found it. He saw a video of hundreds of ducks running across a road with the phrase “release the quaken” superimposed onto it.

The story exists partially as an allegory for fear, and Colón says that some of the themes in the book might be slightly spooky for young readers, but its not meant to scare them.

“I want readers on the edge of their seat, but I'm not looking to give them nightmares,” Colón says. “And I think that's what this story accomplishes.”

By Justin Colón

Excerpt courtesy of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

Kalyani Saxena produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Grace Griffin adapted it for the web.