Publishers Weekly
- Publisher's Weekly
As the author's note explains, a true story inspired this plucky survival tale: in 1992, a crate of 29,000 bath toys washed overboard from a Hong Kong cargo ship, and hundreds of the toys have since turned up on beaches, primarily in Alaska. Here one of those toys gives his account. "I am a yellow plastic duck and I am in great danger," begins Ducky. Bunting (Smoky Night) uses simple declarative sentences that emphasize the plump duck's fear and isolation. He is nearly eaten by a shark and his brightly colored toy friends inadvertently abandon him. Finally buffeted onto a beach where many of his shipwrecked pals are likewise drifting ashore, Ducky is picked up by a friendly boy who takes him home to the bathtub, his destiny. Caldecott winner Wisniewski (Golem), using his celebrated cut-paper technique, employs a jovial palette that promises a happy ending. Textured plexiglass gives the multicolored ocean a remarkably watery feeling, and the duck is endowed with subtle, poignant changes of expression. This unusual bathtime story will easily float with the target audience. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)
Children's Literature
- Jan Lieberman
In 1992, a ship bound for Tacoma left Hong Kong with 29,000 plastic bathtub toy animals that were washed overboard in a storm. Some were found off the coast of the Gulf of Alaska but one lone duck was found off the coast of Washington State. This inspired Eve Bunting's tale. We journey with the duck on the adventure of his toy life, feeling his terror and fears. The illustrations are buoyant cut-paper designs in startling shades of red, magenta, yellow and blue.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2In 1992, a large crate of bathtub toys traveling from Hong Kong to Tacoma, Washington, was lost at sea. Since then, hundreds of the toys have washed ashore, with scientists recording their positions, plotting their courses, and using the information to further their study of currents, winds, and tides. Ducky is the first-person account of one yellow plastic duck that survived the journey to fulfill his destiny in a little boy's tub. In the throes of the adventure, Ducky wishes he could do more than just float, that he could swim, or fly. But, by journey's end, safe and with a child of his own, the contented toy concludes, "How wondrous it is to be able to float!" Bunting's narrative opens with the choppy rhythms and abbreviated sentences of an easy reader, but grows more lyrical as events progress. It is a bit cloying, though. Wisniewski's intricate paper cuts seem a bit grandiose for this modest, somewhat precious text. They will engage readers, however, and they are striking in their use of color and texture, in their composition, and in their interpretation of events. A bit out of sync, then, but likely to find an audience among the bathtub setand budding scientists as well.Marcia Hupp, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
Kirkus Reviews
Even with the considerable talents of Bunting (Moonstick, p. 1108, etc.) and Wisniewski (Golem, 1996), this first-person news-based story of what happens to a plastic bathtub toy when he and the other 28,999 tub toys in his crate are washed overboard during a storm at sea doesn't quite make the transition to the picture-book form. Ducky narrates his long journey into—at last—a child's hands, while an author's note about what scientists learned about currents, winds, and tides from the toys' travels upstages the fictional treatment. Although some children may find it easy to enter into the mind of a bathtub toy, the anthropomorphisms become tiresome, and the suspense is somewhat lacking. The illustrations do evoke the sense of isolation of drifting endlessly on the vast seas; this book will appeal to those who enjoy reading the adventures of toasters, but never makes the leap into the domain of such creatures as the tub people or the more tradition-entrenched little engine that could.
From the Publisher
"The bold illustrations and exciting action make the book a great story-hour pick." Booklist, ALA
