Mr. McCloskey’s Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings

Bland Smith focuses squarely on a single, knotty problem that Robert McCloskey (1914–2003) encountered while working on his now-iconic Make Way for Ducklings. The artist knows he has a good story to tell—“a pair of mallard ducks, looking for a safe place to raise their ducklings in a busy city. Bingo!”—but his preliminary sketches fall flat, and his editor concurs. Smith underscores the demands McCloskey puts on himself: “I can do better,” he thinks. “I have to do better!” In textural, place-oriented gouache and colored pencil spreads, Stadtlander shows McCloskey training home with a box of live ducklings and a sheepish expression on his face, fielding skeptical looks from other passengers. He soon discovers that the ducks make difficult roommates, but his work pays off, a success that crowns this step-by-step portrait of an artist working through to a solution. Ample back matter concludes. Ages 7–10. (Nov.)