Published Reviews
10 Little Rubber Ducks- “Carle takes an actual incident, when numerous bathtub toys fell off
a container ship and floated to various places, and distills it to create
a marvelous counting/concept adventure. The story opens at a factory where
assembly-line workers are painting details onto bright yellow rubber ducks.
The toys are then loaded onto a freighter destined for faraway countries.
During a storm, 10 rubber ducks fall into the sea. Each one floats in a different
direction—west, east, north, south, left, right, up, down, this way,
and that way, - and encounters a different animal (a dolphin, seal, polar
bear, etc.). The 10th one meets a mother duck with her offspring and bobs
along with them to their nest. The ducks all bid “Good night”
to one another with a “Quack,” while the newcomer says “Squeak!”
(Children can press the page to hear a squeak.) Carle’s signature cut-paper
collages burst with color, texture, light, and motion, delighting the eye
and bringing out the text’s nuances. The ordinal numbers are shown in
bold type that stands out from the narrative. More accessible to younger readers
than Eve Bunting’s Ducky (Clarion, 1997), this book makes a
wonderful read-aloud for storytimes or one-on-one sharing. It’s a definite
10.”
- School Library Journal, January, 2005 *Starred Review
- “Ten rubber ducks are packed in a box and tied to a boat. A storm
blows up on their trip across the ocean, spills them out, and they drift in
different directions. One encounters a dolphin, another meets up with a seal,
and so on. The tenth rubber toy runs into a family of wild ducks and they
all nestle down under a friendly moon. Laura Ingalls Wilder Award-recipient
and perennial favorite Carle revisits the counting-book format with his unmistakable
blocky, painted collages. All of his well-known components are present: a
list of animals-many of them recognizable from earlier works-repeated words
and phrases, bright friendly art on lots of white background, and a noisemaker
at the end. He offers his take on the 1992 news story that inspired Eve Bunting
and David Wisniewski to create Ducky (1997). While not Carle’s
best work, it still has those saturated colors that have such appeal. Audiences
of one or many will enjoy it, especially if they get to press the duck and
make him squeak. (Picture book 2-5)”
- Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2005
- “Inspired by a 2003 newspaper story about a shipment of yellow rubber ducks
that fell overboard from a container ship, this winsome story pairs Carle’s
(Mister Seahorse) characteristically jewel-toned collage art with a breezy
text whose intermittent repetition lends it a song-like cadence. After little
yellow rubber ducks pop out of “the rubber duck machine,” their
beaks and eyes receive dabs of paint, and the toys are packed 10 to a box
and loaded onto a cargo ship. When a wave washes one box into the sea, its
contents fall out (“10 ducks overboard!” the ship’s captain
theatrically announces). As the ducks drift in different directions, the counting
and ecological aspects of the tale emerge; one by one the toys encounter a
critter from various ocean habitats. Carle’s jaunty renderings of these
creatures and use of crisp verbs make this a lively journey: a dolphin jumps
over the first duck, a pelican chatters at the fifth, a whale sings to the
ninth. Full-page collage images give way to full-spread compositions as the
10th rubber duck meets with the most satisfying fate (it encounters a real
mother duck and her nine ducklings). While mother and babies “Quack”
goodnight to the moon, the new addition chimes in with a chipper “Squeak!”
(a sound chip allows readers to hear it for themselves). A ducky tale indeed,
as sublimely simple and endearing as the playthings it portrays.”
- Publishers Weekly, January 24, 2005
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