Make Way for Ducklings

This is a wonderfully told local story that is a classic for area residents and visitors, where the key characters are not humans – but birds.

The book provides a wonderful sense of how important geography and place are to humans and animals alike. The story is in many respects a personal one that highlights the ongoing power of individual relationships and families. This is a book whose wonderful illustrations amplify the story as one is reading it to children.

I love stories where animals are the main characters and kids do, too! Robert McCloskey's tale about Mr. and Mrs. Duck taking their ducklings across Boston to the pond in the public garden is sometimes harrowing, entertaining, and always charming. Published in 1941, it is a  classic in children's literature that simply doesn't grow old, by one of my favorite children's authors. I remember Captain Kangaroo reading the book on TV to me, I read it to my preschoolers, and naturally to my own kids...more than once! 

This classic, set in Boston, is a nice east coast counterpart to Fly High, Fly Low, which is based in San Francisco. Also about a bird family on the move through the city, anyone who has seen a string of ducklings trailing their mother will acknowledge that such a procession is worth the traffic-stopping disruption they cause here.