Of late, there have been many picture book biographies published about famous authors and illustrators. As a book lover, I have appreciated this trend. I love knowing the story behind the story, and the subjects selected have been some of the best. I particularly loved Sarah Mackenzie’s Because Barbara and Sherry Dusky Rinker’s Big Machines. When Amazon noticed the attention I was giving to those books, it recommended Mr. McCloskey’s Marvelous Mallards by Emma Blands Smith. Since I think Make Way For Ducklings is one of the most perfect picture books ever written, I was eager to read this book. It does not disappoint. Not even a little.
Mr. McCloskey’s Marvelous Mallards is an engaging and delightful story about the process Robert McCloskey used to get the drawings right in his second (arguably most famous) children’s book – Make Way For Ducklings. The story truly is fascinating.
A young artist, living with a roommate in a New York studio apartment, McCloskey was frustrated with his inability to draw ducks well. Years before, when he was an art student in Boston, he had been delighted by the many ducks along the river in that city. One day, an entire family of ducks walked past him in a neat line. He remembered that event and was inspired to write a story about a mallard couple who were searching for a safe place to raise their ducklings. The trouble was that his drawings were not nearly good enough.
His editor agreed that the story was coming together well, but that his illustration was terribly inadequate. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t get them to look like real ducks. So, he did the only sensible thing: he purchased a box full of live ducklings and brought them home to his studio.
For weeks he observed them and tried to capture their movements with his pencil. He was making progress, but it wasn’t enough. And so, he bought adult ducks to add to his apartment chaos. All the while, the ducks were making a mess of his apartment, flooding his bathtub, and causing leaks in the apartment below. He was very nearly there.
Finally, the ducks HAD-TO-GO! He brought them to a friend’s farm and released them onto a pond where they could cause all of the trouble and mess they wanted. He observed them in flight and had the last inspiration he needed.
Usually modest and reserved, McCloskey was unusually sure that he had done it. He raced to his editor, and she agreed. And, when Make Way For Ducklings was published children, the toughest critics, also agreed.
This charming true story shows the hard work that goes into making a good picture book. The story is told and illustrated very well. Jane McCloskey, the author’s daughter, wrote a note of appreciation for the story in the back of the book. The end matter has several pages of fascinating notes and resources.
On the back of the book, Gary D. Schmidt says, “A wonderfully rollicking rendition of the story behind the story.” I could not agree more, Mr. Schmidt.