School Library Journal Starred Review

PreS-Gr 1 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 directionwest, east, north, south, left, right, up, down, this way, and that wayand 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. Linda Staskus, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH

ALA Booklist

A ship loaded with boxes of rubber ducks is traveling across the sea when a storm blows up and dumps 10 of the toys into the water. The ducks bob along together for a while, but soon they drift in different directions, each encountering an animal, such as a dolphin, a seal, a polar bear, and a flamingo. The last little duck is adopted by a mother duck, floating along with her ducklings. When the real ducks end their day with a goodnight "quack," the rubber duckie, aided by children who "press here" on the duck's body, manages a squeak. The simple, appealing story is greatly enhanced by beautifully composed illustrations. From the distinctive use of negative space on the title page and the watery finger-paint effects in some ocean scenes to the rich combination of patterns on the final double-page spread, Carle uses cut-paper collage with a fine sense of freedom and artistry.

Horn Book

Carle's collage paintings are glorious, but like their subject--rubber ducks lost at sea--the story is all over the place, relying on a series of opposites that don't make much sense in sequence. But there is a happy ending for preschoolers, who will find a push-button "squeak" on the final spread just as the tenth duck finds a new family.

Kirkus Reviews (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

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 Awardrecipient 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)