The tenth rubber toy runs into a family of wild ducks and they all nestle down under a friendly moon. One encounters a dolphin, another meets up with a seal, and so on. A storm blows up on their trip across the ocean, spills them out, and they drift in different directions. “Ten rubber ducks are packed in a box and tied to a boat. 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. The ordinal numbers are shown in bold type that stands out from the narrative. 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 10th one meets a mother duck with her offspring and bobs along with them to their nest. 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.). During a storm, 10 rubber ducks fall into the sea. The toys are then loaded onto a freighter destined for faraway countries.

The story opens at a factory where assembly-line workers are painting details onto bright yellow rubber ducks. STARRED REVIEW *“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. Inspired by the true story of these ducks at sea, Eric Carle has imagined their voyage in the wide open waters and the creatures they meet who live in and around the ocean. 10 Little Rubber Ducks fall overboard and land on shores all around the world.

Eric carle 10 rubber ducks