Ducks Overboard! A True Story of Plastic in Our Oceans by Markus Motum

Ducks Overboard! is a picture book about a container of plastic ducks traveling to the United States to be sold. One day as the ship was traveling, it ran into a storm, and the container with the ducks fell overboard; all 28,000 ducks fell into the middle of the ocean. In particular, the story follows one duck who describes his encounter with plastic pollution and the sea creatures that must endure the trash. On his journey, the duck sees a whale swallow a plastic bag, a giant trash pile floating in the ocean, and a turtle struggling with a net caught around its body. After many years, the duck finally makes it to land, only to be met with more trash on land. On land, he is picked up by a beach cleanup person who takes him home, where the duck is happy to be used as a bathtub toy. Largely "an awesome odyssey that also makes a telling point, both worth of repeated iterations." ("A ducky's-eye view of," 2021)

Critical Analysis

Ducks Overboard! is in the first person and easy to follow for young students from preschool to grade 4. The duck's character is curious and thoughtful, and the story's theme includes pollution and responsibility. The book is on the Outstanding International Book (OIB) honor list of 2022 by USBBY. Originally published in England and written by British author Markus Motum.

The illustrations by the author are drawn with vibrant colors of light blue, bright yellow, and various other colors that stick to an ocean theme. The plastic duck is illustrated with subtle emotions, but enough to make the reader emotional about the duck's circumstances. Ocean wildlife is depicted with fewer facial emotions, but the drawings of their predicaments will stir readers.

The book's strength is that it teaches younger audiences about pollution. Its weakness is that it does not go into more detail about how we can prevent pollution. However, I believe this is a helpful and informative book for students to understand the urgency of pollution issues. Readers may enjoy the book What a Waste: Trash, Recycling, and Protecting our Planet by Jess French, which has a similar theme and lesson.

References

"A ducky's-eye view of". (2021, September 28). Ducks overboard! Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved June 9, 2022, from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/markus-motum/ducks-overboard/

Motum, M. (2021). Ducks Overboard!: A True Story of Plastic in our Oceans. Walker Books.