Mr. McCloskey’s Marvelous Mallards

Robert McCloskey went to art school in Boston, and as he walked back and forth to classes, he often watched mallard ducks that waddled around on his route. They made McCloskey laugh, and years later when he was searching for an idea for a children’s book, he remembered seeing a family of ducks walking all in a row in the busy city. This duck family trying to find a safe home in a city was the seed for McCoskey’s famous book, Make Way for Ducklings.

He wrote the story and began working on sketches but was dissatisfied. The drawings just didn’t look right. He finally bought several ducklings and brought them to his little apartment in New York City. Eventually, he even bought some adult ducks. His apartment was a noisy, chaotic place, but he finally completed his drawings and finished the book.

Emma Bland Smith has written a fun story that will give young readers an idea of how much work it takes to create a picture book. Becca Stadtlander’s illustrations are filled with great details and complete the story nicely. The back matter gives a good deal more information on McCloskey. This is a delightful book.