Make Way For Ducklings by: Robert McCloskey

Genre: Picture Book
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Copyright Date: 1941
Page Number: 68
Reading Level: 4-8

Summary:
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were flying around trying to find a place to live. They landed on an island in the middle of a pond in Boston and thought that that was a perfect place to start their family. They spent the night there and in the morning they were fed by passers by on a tour boat (that looked like a swan). They were really excited to live there until Mr. Mallard almost got hit by a bycicle! They decided that wasn't a good place to have babies and so they flew a little way over to the banks of the Charles river and decided that it was perfect. As they were checking out their new neighborhood they ran into a policeman named Michael. Michael fed them peanuts and so they returned to him every day. Soon, after, Mrs. Mallard laid eight eggs and so she had to stay really close to them. Then their eggs hatched. They were kept busy by all their new ducklings. Mr Mallard took a trip up the river and he left Mrs. Mallard to care for their children. She taught them everything about city life and how to stay out of trouble. When they were ready, she took them on a walk through the city. They followed her in a perfectly striahgt line. They came to the highway and were almost run over but Michael came to the rescue! He stopped the traffic to let them pass. She marched them all through the city and everyone stopped and stared. Michael held back the traffic on another street and let them right into the public garden where they were to meet Mr. Mallard. They reached the pond and swam to the middle where the island was. They decided to make their home there!

Who would benefit from reading this book/ Who would I recommend this book to?
This book is a great book to use when talking about protecting the environment. Michael was a good example of taking care of the wildlife. It is also a good book to help kids apreciate what a wonderful enviornment they live in! This book is really good for anyone to own.

What conflicts/problems could this book potentially cause?
Just becuase the ducks in this story are friendly, doesn't mean that all ducks are friendly. Some ducks are pretty mean so kids have to be careful around them so they don't get nipped by one. Kids should also be careful around the babies. You don't want to harm a baby duck, that would be sad.

My Reaction:
I thought this was a good book. I love ducklings, they are the cutest. It was fun to learn about the lives of ducks living in a city.