Eric Carle was the creator of more than seventy picture books for young readers. Eric Carle was born in New York, USA. However, when he was just six, he moved with his parents to Germany. In 1952, after graduating from the prestigious Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Stuttgart, he fulfilled his dream of returning to New York. Eric Carle received many distinguished awards and honours for his work, including, in 2003, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his lifetime contribution to children's literature and illustration. In 2002, fifty years after Carle's return to the United States, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was opened in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here visitors of all ages can enjoy, in addition to Eric Carle's work, original artwork by other distinguished children's book illustrators from around the world. Eric Carle was the creator of more than seventy picture books for young readers. Eric Carle was born in New York, USA. However, when he was just six, he moved with his parents to Germany. In 1952, after graduating from the prestigious Akademie der Bildenden Kunste in Stuttgart, he fulfilled his dream of returning to New York. Eric Carle received many distinguished awards and honours for his work, including, in 2003, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for his lifetime contribution to children's literature and illustration. In 2002, fifty years after Carle's return to the United States, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art was opened in Amherst, Massachusetts. Here visitors of all ages can enjoy, in addition to Eric Carle's work, original artwork by other distinguished children's book illustrators from around the world.
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. Ages 2-6. (Feb.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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 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.-Linda Staskus, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
"A marvelous counting/concept adventure. A wonderful read-aloud. It's a definite 10." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
