I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. The author of Make Way for Ducklings has a new story a bout his "Marvelous Mallards".

Love, Love, Loved this nonfiction picture book about the author of "Make Way for Ducklings". I have always loved that book and many of his others. It was really interesting to learn more about his life and his writing process. The art was beautiful and the notes at the back were very informitave also.

This charming book shares the true story of how Robert McCloskey created the classic picture book "Make Way for Ducklings." The story of his trial and error will be relatable to other creatives, and children and adults alike will love the hilarious chaos of him bringing ducks into his apartment to serve as live models.

The text is lively and engaging, and the illustrations visualize the details in interesting ways while also standing on their own from a stylistic perspective. They're not lookalikes of the original book, but have their own unique style. The author's note at the end shares photos, more information about McCloskey's life and career, and details about his fictional duck family's enduring cultural presence. This section also includes reflections from one of McCloskey's daughters, and this personal touch further enriches the book.

This will appeal to fans of "Make Way for Ducklings," fans of McCloskey, and people who are interested in true stories about the challenges that authors and artists face to do their best work and revise it until it's just right. This unique nonfiction picture book has all-ages appeal, and will be especially encouraging to children who are interested in art and writing.

The story in Make Way for Ducklings is so well known that even those who haven’t read the book may be familiar with the statue of the mother duck and her ducklings that stands in the Boston Public Garden. Even those that have read the book, though, probably didn’t know how difficult it was for McCloskey to illustrate the ducks in such a satisfying way.

Mr. McCloskey’s Marvellous Mallards by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Becca Stadtlander (Calkins Creek, 2022), tells the story of “The Making of Make Way for Ducklings.” In fact, as this biographical picture book informs, young artist McCloskey struggled with drawing ducks. He had already written the story, but couldn’t seem to get the art right. Studying stuffed ducks in the museum didn’t help. Watching ducks from the side of a pond didn’t help. So, instead, McCloskey took home tiny, noisy ducklings! By watching the ducklings swim in his bathtub and live in his apartment, McCloskey got that intimate look at the birds that he needed in order to perfect the look of the ducks in his own book.


McCloskey’s story is inspirational: it’s about an artist that wanted to improve and worked hard to do so. Beyond the inspiration, the illustrations in Mr. McCloskey’s Marvellous Mallards bring out the hilarity of the situation. I hadn’t known that McCloskey was unmarried and had a roommate while he was bringing these ducks into his own home! What a mess that must have been! I especially like the page in which the grown-up ducks and the ducklings are causing complete chaos in his bathroom!

Stadtlander’s illustrations are unique from McCloskey, and that is intentional. Except for sample pages that imitate McCloskey’s art in process, Stadtlander’s illustrations stand alone. For example, they are colorful (McCloskey’s were not), and they are painted in gouache for the most part (McCloskey used pencil). But they serve different purposes. McCloskey was drawing a 1942 book for a story about a family of ducklings. Stadtlander is telling a story about an artist that happens to be illustrating a book about ducklings. Her illustrations are fantastic too, for a different purpose and in a different style. Both styles fit well together in this nonfiction account.

I’m glad Stadtlander didn’t try to completely imitate McCloskey’s style here: there is only one Make Way for Ducklings, and McCloskey has already nailed that into the canon of fantastic children’s literature. Mr. McCloskey’s Marvellous Mallards puts that fantastic book and its author into a historical context that we can all appreciate! This would be a nice companion to reading Make Way for Ducklings or for finding inspiration in developing talent.

Note: I received a digital copy of this book for review consideration.

If you mention the name of Robert McCloskey to anyone familiar with children's literature, they will probably respond by saying "Blueberries for Sal" or "Make Way for Ducklings." And they may imagine that Mr. McCloskey was able to visit the duck pond at a nearby park a few times and make a few sketches, then go back to work comfortably in his studio. They would be wrong.
This delightful picture book tells, and even better, shows how those mallards took over his life (and his studio) as he tried again and again to capture them accurately in his illustrations. Readers will see poor Robert as he visits science museums, brings live ducklings home to study, uses binoculars to observe ducks in flight, and even brings more ducks home! "All it took was six years, buckets of patience, a good supply of erasers, and a studio full of spirited ducks."

Back matter includes a note from Jane McCloskey about her father, an author's note, information about McCloskey's editor May Massee, some photos of Mr. McCloskey and his sketches, a list of books he wrote and/or illustrated, a timeline of his career, and a bibliography of sources used to create the book.

Perfect for doing an author study, as a companion book to use with Make Way for Ducklings, or when sharing a lesson on the work of authors and illustrators.

Get ready for a new classic from the same author of the beloved, timeless Make Way for Ducklings, with the same signature feel and illustrations. Mr. McCloskey is writing a children’s book about two mallards attempting to settle down and make a home with their ducklings in a busy, metropolitan city. However, he is frustrated when he realizes that his illustrations of ducks are just not quite right – he can’t capture their movements correctly. Something is off. Despite numerous attempts Mr. McCloskey is convinced that he can do better and that he must do better. He realizes that his only chance at doing the best he possibly can and succeeding in his drawings is to observe live ducks. The ducklings end up living in his apartment for a few months, and, much to his chagrin, they refuse to cooperate, quacked constantly, and made a terrible mess. That didn’t stop him, though – he was determined to meet his goal and succeed, and eventually, he succeeds, after trial and error and many failures. The ducks end up going to Mr. McCloskey’s friends’ farm and living a happily life, and Mr. McCloskey reached his goal. This one is so important, and will teach your little ones to not only strive for their best and continue, despite failures, to get better and better – but it also shows us that we can believe in ourselves and set and make goals. I cannot say enough good things about this one!

Make Way Way for Ducklings won the Caldecott Medal back in 1941, when the artist was 27 years old. If you have ever read it, you may have noticed how perfectly the artist rendered the ducks, almost as though he had them right in front of him.

Turns out, he did, which I never knew until reading this picture book about how he made the award winning book. He had first seen the ducks when he was studying art in Boston, and decided to do a story about them, when he moved to Greenwich Village in New York. Only problem was, he needed them as models, so he picked up some ducks, and brought them to his studio apartment.

Needless to say, the ducks did not like being inside, but if finally allowed him to draw them.
Delightful story about the process, with great pictures of the ducks in the living room and bathroom. The book also gives praise to his editor, who pushed him to put out the amazing picture book.

Best advice she ever gave him to get his own ducks.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. </em>

At every author visit, kids always ask where the story idea came from. This book tells the story of the inspiration for Make Way for Ducklings. It’s also a take of perseverance.

This picture book tells the story of Robert McCloskey, author of the legendary children’s classic, Make Way for Ducklings. This book was a personal favorite of mine when I was a child, but I never knew the story of how McCloskey did the research for the art that made this book so memorable to myself and generations of readers. This book, along with charming illustrations, tells the story of McCloskey’s trial-and-error while writing Make Way for Ducklings, which ended up with his purchasing ducklings for him to observe in his little New York City apartment.

In my opinion, the illustrations stole the show in this particular children’s story. They’re what sucked me into the story of learning about a book I haven’t reread or thought about in decades. The written part of the story, which felt a little clunky at times, ultimately brings the illustrations around to the moral (in my perception, at least): if you work at something you’re passionate about and give it all you’ve got, even if you fail, you’ll find fulfillment in the process and a reward in the journey. This is always an important lesson to learn, no matter your age. I would recommend this book, especially after a reading of Make Way for Ducklings.