Book Review - Picture Book - Make Way for Ducklings

BOOK REVIEW – PICTURE BOOK – MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

McCloskey, Robert. 1969. MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS. New York: The Viking Press. ISBN 0670451495

PLOT SUMMARY

McCloskey’s plot of finding the right home and raising a family is from the traditional view of his time with both a mom and a dad.  The mom makes all the ‘home’ and ‘raising’ decisions.  She is very vocal and her decisions are supported by dad.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The reader is introduced to the Mallards and to Boston with a birds-eye view of several favorite locations: the Public Gardens, Beacon Hill, the State House, Louisburg Square, and the Charles River. Imagery is used to describe why the pond in the Public Gardens isn’t suitable for eating, “fished for their breakfast in the mud.”  Later, the fact that they don’t find their own food is glossed over with an understatement, “called on Michael every day.”  Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings are given human attributes to some of their actions, “marching in a line……so proud she tipped her nose in the air….to say thank you.”  All of the duckling’s names rhyme and onomatopoeia – honk, quack, tweet - is used in the scene describing the chaos caused by the family trying to cross the road.

The illustrations by the author begin on the fly pages with a simple seven-step depiction of a duck hatching and they never slow down.  The monochrome line drawings take us on a journey with the Mallards, creating a gentle and friendly atmosphere in Boston.  The human characters have individual physical traits (fat, skinny, short, tall, old, young); they are all Caucasian, and their clothing along with the style of automobiles dates this book to its 1930-1940s eras. 

AWARDS
Caldecott 1942 Medal Winner

REVIEW EXCERPTS

HORN BOOK MAGAZINE ( Nov/Dec2000): “It's a comforting story about being safe under your mother's wing”

BOOK LINKS (July 2006): “…the artist positions the viewer far away, up close, in the air, ….these changes create……dramatic composition…”

CONNECTIONS

SCHOOL LIBRARY MEDIA ACTIVITIES MONTHLY (Apr 2009):

(1) an interview with Robert McCloskey http://www.hbook.com/history/radio/mccloskey.asp,

(2) history of the swan boats http://www.friendsofthepublicgarden.org/,  

(3) information about the statue(s) commemorating this bookhttp://www.schon.com/public/ducklings-boston.php,

(4) art/drawing activity http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collateral.jsp?id=10548,

(5) flashcard activity with ducklings name http://www.teachervision.fen.com/fiction/activity/1733.html

Other books:

Flack, Marjorie.  2000.  THE STORY ABOUT PING.  Ill. by Kurt Wiese.  New York: Grosset & Dunlap.  ISBN-13: 978-0448421650