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Title details for Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards by Emma Bland Smith - Available

Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards

The Making of Make Way for Ducklings

by Emma Bland Smith
Peter Berkrot
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
As soon as artist Robert McCloskey saw the ducks in Boston Public Garden, he knew he had to write about them. But how? Studying stuffed birds didn't help.
Would inviting some into his apartment work? What? Was he quack-ers?
For months ducklings slept on his sofa and swam in his bathtub, making incredible messes. Quack! Quack! His roommate was not amused and his neighbors complained, but Robert did not give up. As the ducklings grew, he got down on his hands and knees and followed them with pad
and pencil. At times he even acted like a duck! Through revision, after revision, after revision, Robert improved the art and story, until he and his editor were finally satisfied. Join Emma Bland Smith in her tribute to an amazing artist and his inspiring marvelous mallards!

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 18, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798889560647
      • File size: 6552 KB
      • Duration: 00:13:38

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 19, 2022
      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.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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