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.

Top 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Verified Quotes

Medical Lens

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