Children will anticipate that something goofy is coming by a glance at the cover art: a duck in a soup pot balancing a lid on his head. Urbanovic has created a funny story in which Max’s friends mistakenly believe that he is in the soup pot. Their attempts to save him ruin his meticulously prepared soup (”‘AHHHHH! It’s his head!’ said Bebe. ‘Silly! It’s only a potato!’ Brody replied. ‘EYEBALLS! His eyeballs!’ said Bebe. ‘Guys, it’s only tiny onions!’ said Brody”), but reinforce the value of friendship. The softly outlined watercolor illustrations feature a loose style that gives freshness and energy to each scene. Children will laugh out loud at the antics in this story, which blends so cohesively with the large pictures.