10 Little Rubber Ducks Board Book

Inspired by a real 2003 news story of rubber ducks lost at sea, Eric Carle builds a sweet, clever little book around ten ducks drifting in ten different directions — each one encountering a different ocean animal along the way. It teaches counting, ordinal numbers, and compass directions through a gentle narrative arc, and the board-book format is durable enough for the youngest readers who will love it most. Carle's signature collage art is warm and expressive throughout. The honest caveat is that the board-book adaptation condenses the original picture book, and compass direction vocabulary may be a touch advanced for the youngest board-book audience. Still, for a title that manages to be educational, story-driven, and heartwarming all at once, this one delivers well above its weight.