10 Little Rubber Ducks (Reading Club)
10 Little Rubber Ducks
We are huge fans of Eric Carle books, maybe it is the fun stories or beautiful artwork that excites children to read. One of our favorites is 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle, this fun book brings us on a journey of 10 little rubber ducks that have fallen overboard, what will they encounter? Before we go any further, please take a moment and pin this post to your reading board.
Based on a True Story
Did you know that 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle was based on a true story? Well, it was back in 1992 a shipment of 29,000 rubber bathtub toys, including ducks, beavers, turtles, and frogs, fell overboard from a container ship. Some of these rubber toys have washed up on the shores of Alaska, Hawaii, South America, Australia, and the Pacific Northwest. Others have been found frozen in Arctic ice and made their way to Newfoundland and Scotland. How wonderful to find a rubber duck on shore one day?
Eric Carle’s 10 Little Rubber Ducks
Carle’s story begins at a factory where assembly line workers are painting details onto bright yellow rubber ducks. Then off to faraway countries for the little rubber ducks. When all of a sudden a storm hits, and 10 rubber ducks go overboard into the sea. Each duck 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.) in each direction. The story is filled with excitement and learning opportunities, it is a favorite in our house and hopefully, if it isn’t already it will be in yours as well.
The art in this book
The illustrations in this story are in Carle’s signature collage style, made of various cut papers which creates beautiful imagery for this story. The bright colors, texture, light, and motion delight the eye and bring out the text’s nuances. The ordinal numbers are shown in a bold typeface that stands out from the narrative. This is a perfect story to read aloud together as a family or to read aloud in a class.
A lesson for older readers
Discussing with older readers the true story behind 10 Little Rubber Ducks can inspire them to write a story of their own based on something that has happened in their lives. How amazing is it that this story of the lost bathtub toys inspired Eric Carle to create this magical story of his own.
Free Printable
The free printable can be downloaded from our library of resources if you are not already a Blooming Brilliant insider than join here.
For my printables, I like to print on card stock, because it makes it super sturdy for reusable use. To add even more sturdiness and make them reusable I like to laminate the materials. Laminating them or putting them into pouches or even page protectors lets you be able to use dry erase markers or crayons.
10 Little Rubber Ducks Crafts
Making the paper plate duck on the sea was so much fun. I love how creating crafts with my children not only does it develop skills and creativity but also brings out such pride in them. My little guy is so proud of the work that he did with these crafts and can’t wait to show whoever comes home his art displayed on the fridge.
Paper Plate Duck On the Sea
What you will need:
Paper Plate
What to do:
- Paint paper plate blue. Set it aside to dry.
- While the plate is drying take a piece of white paper or card stock and paint the palm of your hand (child’s hand) yellow. Set it aside to dry.
- Once the blue paper plate is dry you can unravel one of the cotton balls and create little cloud shapes or just glue them onto the paper plate to create clouds.
- Once the yellow handprint is dry, cut out the handprint.
- Draw on an eye or glue on a googly eye and feather.
- Cut a small triangle out of the orange paper and glue it onto your duck as a beak.
- Glue your duck handprint onto the blue paper plate.
10 Little Rubber Duck Paper Plate Craft
What you will need:
Paper Plate
How to make the 10 Little Rubber Duck Paper Plate Craft
What to do:
- Cut a paper plate in half.
- Paint paper plate yellow.
- Cut out orange duck feet and beak.
- Cut out yellow head.
- Glue or tape pieces together. Add a feather as wing and your googly eye.
Watch and Create:
Music
Music really engages kids. I find that my kids absolutely adore music, especially my youngest. Want to add music to your tiny tots reading club lesson? Here are a couple of our picks. Let us know your favorites in the comment section below.
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