Make Way for Ducklings

Summary

Make Way for Ducklings is a picture book about a pair of mallards who raise their family in the middle of Boston. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a place to live, but Mrs. Mallard rejects every spot Mr. Mallard likes, because there might be foxes in the woods or turtles in the water. Flying over Boston, they rest on the island in the pond of the Public Garden, where people on the swan boats toss peanuts. The next morning a speeding bicycle nearly runs them down, and Mrs. Mallard decides the Garden is no place for babies. They fly on over Beacon Hill, the State House and Louisburg Square, and settle at last on a quiet little island in the Charles River. There they make friends with Michael, a policeman who feeds them peanuts every day. Mrs. Mallard lays eight eggs and hatches eight ducklings: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack. Mr. Mallard sets off to see the rest of the river, promising to meet the family in the Public Garden in a week. Meanwhile Mrs. Mallard teaches the ducklings to swim and dive, to walk in a line, to come when called and to keep away from bicycles, scooters and other things with wheels. When the week is up she leads them ashore and across a busy highway, where Michael stops the cars, then telephones headquarters; Clancy sends a police car, and four policemen hold back the traffic at the corner of Beacon Street while the ducklings march into the Garden. Mr. Mallard is waiting on the island, the family settles there, and they follow the swan boats for peanuts by day and sleep on the island by night. McCloskey drew the pictures in charcoal printed in sepia brown, after studying mallards he kept in his New York apartment. Published by the Viking Press in 1941, the book won the 1942 Caldecott Medal.

Plot or Argument

• Looking for a home

  Mr. and Mrs. Mallard search for a place to raise ducklings. Mrs. Mallard turns down each spot for fear of foxes or turtles. Over Boston they spy the Public Garden and spend the night on the island in its pond, enjoying the peanuts thrown from the swan boats.

• Too dangerous for babies

  A rushing bicycle nearly runs them down, and Mrs. Mallard decides the Garden is unsafe. They fly over Beacon Hill, the State House dome and Louisburg Square, and settle on a small island in the Charles River, where the policeman Michael befriends them with peanuts.

• Eight ducklings

  Mrs. Mallard sits on her eight eggs until they hatch into Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack. Mr. Mallard leaves to explore the river and arranges to meet his family in the Public Garden a week later.

• School on the river

  Mrs. Mallard trains the ducklings to swim, dive, walk single file, come when called and stay clear of things with wheels. Proud of her well-taught brood, she sets out for the Garden.

• Make way

  The family is stuck at a roaring highway until Michael halts the cars. He phones headquarters, Clancy sends a squad car, and four policemen stop traffic at the corner of Beacon Street while Mrs. Mallard leads the ducklings proudly past admiring onlookers.

• Home in the Public Garden

  Mr. Mallard is waiting on the island in the pond. The ducklings like it so much that they stay, following the swan boats for peanuts and swimming back to the island each night to sleep.

Characters

• Mrs. Mallard, protagonist

  Careful mother duck who chooses the nesting place, raises and trains eight ducklings, and leads them through Boston.

• Mr. Mallard, father duck

  Easygoing drake who goes off to explore the river and meets his family in the Public Garden.

• Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack, the ducklings

  Eight ducklings whose rhyming names are a favorite part of the book for young listeners.

• Michael, policeman

  Boston policeman who feeds the Mallards peanuts and stops the traffic for the ducklings.

• Clancy, police headquarters

  Officer at headquarters who sends a police car when Michael telephones for help.

Lessons

• A careful mother chooses wisely

  Mrs. Mallard will not settle where her babies might meet foxes, turtles or speeding bicycles, even when Mr. Mallard likes the spot. Her caution is not fussiness but love planning ahead. The book shows a parent weighing dangers before the children even exist.

  • Why did Mrs. Mallard say no to so many places to live?
  • What happened in the Public Garden that made her decide it was not safe yet?
  • How do your parents keep you safe before you even know there is danger?

• Learning before the big walk

  The ducklings practice swimming, diving, walking in a line and coming when called before they ever leave the river. When the day comes, those lessons let eight small birds cross a city safely. Children learn that obedience and practice prepare them for the moment when it counts.

  • What did Mrs. Mallard teach the ducklings before they left the island?
  • Why was it important that the ducklings could walk in a line and come when called?
  • What is something you practiced that helped you later?

• Helpers in the city

  Michael feeds the Mallards, notices when they need help and stops a whole road of cars for them. He calls headquarters, and other policemen come at once. The city that looked dangerous turns out to be full of people willing to make way for the small and weak.

  • How did Michael help the Mallard family?
  • Why did the policemen stop the cars for a family of ducks?
  • Who are the helpers in your neighborhood?

Context

The book is set in a real Boston that readers can still visit: the Public Garden with its pond, island and swan boats, the gold-domed State House on Beacon Hill, Louisburg Square, the Charles River, and the busy streets between them. The police officer on his beat, the call box to headquarters, and the cars and bicycles in the pictures belong to the city of the late 1930s.

Composition

McCloskey has said the idea came while he was a student in Boston and noticed the ducks of the Public Garden and the traffic around them. Working in New York, he studied mallard specimens at the American Museum of Natural History, consulted an ornithologist, and brought live ducklings home to his apartment so he could sketch them from every angle. He drew the illustrations in charcoal; they were printed by lithography from zinc plates in a sepia brown. The Viking Press published the book in 1941.

Reception

It won the Caldecott Medal in 1942, and it has never gone out of print. In 1987 Nancy Schön's bronze sculpture of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings was installed in the Boston Public Garden, and in 1991 Barbara Bush presented a copy to Raisa Gorbachev for a park in Moscow. Massachusetts later named it the official children's book of the Commonwealth, and Boston holds a Duckling Day parade along the ducklings' route.

Comparisons

• the-tale-of-peter-rabbit

  Both are picture books about small animals in a world made by people, but Peter disobeys his mother and barely escapes the garden, while the ducklings obey Mrs. Mallard and cross a city safely.

• homer-price

  McCloskey's own story collection for older children shares the same affectionate eye for American townspeople and the same comic order restored after a public commotion.

• the-cricket-in-times-square

  Another country creature finds a home in the heart of an American city; both books depend on kind city people who make room for an animal newcomer.

• little-bear

  Mother Bear and Mrs. Mallard are calm, wise mothers who teach and protect; both books give the youngest readers a picture of secure family love.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• Every place Mrs. Mallard turns down. Notice the danger she sees at each one.
• The views from the air over Boston: the State House dome, Beacon Hill and Louisburg Square.
• The eight ducklings walking in a line. Count them on each page to make sure no one is lost.
• Michael the policeman. See how many times he helps the Mallards.

Key terms and names

Mallard

A kind of wild duck. The father has a shiny green head; the mother is speckled brown so she is hard to see on her nest.

Public Garden

A park in the middle of Boston with a pond and a little island, where the Mallards finally make their home.

Swan boats

Pedal boats shaped like swans that carry people around the pond in the Public Garden. The riders throw peanuts to the ducks.

Charles River

The river beside Boston where Mrs. Mallard builds her nest on a small island and hatches her eggs.

Policeman

A city officer who keeps people safe. Michael and his friends stop the cars so the ducklings can cross.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension Why did Mrs. Mallard decide the Public Garden was not safe the first time?
2. Comprehension Where did the Mallards build their nest, and who was their friend there?
3. Comprehension What did Mrs. Mallard teach the ducklings before the big walk?
4. Interpretation Mr. Mallard went away for a week. Why do you think Mrs. Mallard trusted him to meet them in the Garden?
5. Interpretation Why was Mrs. Mallard so proud when the people on the street watched her ducklings?
6. Interpretation The policemen stopped all the cars for eight little ducks. What does that tell us about Michael and his friends?
7. Big Question Why should big, strong people make way for small ones?

Faith Connections

• Matthew 23:37 (Scripture)

  Jesus compares His love to a hen gathering her chicks under her wings. Mrs. Mallard gathering and guarding her eight ducklings gives children a picture of that tender care.

• Matthew 6:26 (Scripture)

  Jesus points to the birds of the air, whom the Father feeds. The Mallards find their food day by day, from fish in the river to peanuts from Michael and the swan-boat riders.

• Romans 13:3-4 (Scripture)

  Paul calls rulers God's servants for our good. Michael and the other policemen use their authority to protect the weakest travelers on the road.

• Proverbs 22:6 (Scripture)

  Train up a child in the way he should go. Mrs. Mallard's lessons on the river prepare her ducklings for the walk through the city.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Little ducklings cannot survive in a city of cars by themselves. Mrs. Mallard chooses a safe home, trains her children to obey and keep together, and trusts friends who can help. Because she prepares and the policemen protect, the smallest family in Boston crosses safely. So careful parents, obedient children and kind neighbors together make even a dangerous place a home.

Rhetorical device: rhyming list. The ducklings' names, Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack, march through the alphabet with the same ending, so the words line up like the ducklings walking in single file.

Debate: Resolved: Mrs. Mallard was right to leave the Public Garden the first time, even though it had plenty of peanuts.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Write about how Mrs. Mallard took care of her ducklings. Tell two things she did to keep them safe.

Comparison with The Tale of Peter Rabbit: Peter Rabbit did not listen to his mother, but the ducklings listened to Mrs. Mallard. Tell what happened to each and which mother you would want to follow.

Medical Lens

No medical content. The book concerns nesting, raising young and crossing a city, and its only hazards are traffic and predators.

Creative Prompts

• Classroom

  Lay out a paper map of the ducklings' route from the Charles River to the Public Garden on the floor, and let the children walk it in a line while one child plays Michael stopping traffic.

• Fiction

  Tell what Mr. Mallard saw on his week-long trip down the river while Mrs. Mallard was teaching the ducklings.

• Classroom

  Say the eight ducklings' names aloud together, then have each child invent a ninth duckling's name that fits the rhyme and draw that duckling in brown crayon, the way McCloskey drew in one color.

• Dialogue

  Act out Michael's telephone call to Clancy at headquarters, explaining why the police need to come and stop cars for a family of ducks.

Further Reading

• Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey

  A Maine picture book in which a little girl and a bear cub each lose track of their mothers.

• Time of Wonder, Robert McCloskey

  McCloskey's second Caldecott Medal book, a summer on a Maine island.

• One Morning in Maine, Robert McCloskey

• Lentil, Robert McCloskey

  His first picture book, set in a small Ohio town.