Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for the perfect place to start a family, and settle on an island in the Charles River in Boston. After hatching 8 eggs, Mrs. Mallard walks her ducklings down the street to Boston Common.

The set-up here really doesn’t hold up. The Mallards reject the river because it has too many turtles (a real threat to eggs and small ducklings), then reject the Commons because there are too many bikes (maybe a threat to ducklings, but not a threat to eggs and much less of a threat than cars), then go back to the river to lay eggs, then walk the ducklings through traffic to the Commons (just because Mr. Mallard will meet them there, not for any particular reason). Mallards are known for their poor choice of nesting places, and for walking their ducklings through traffic to get to the water, but trying to insert anthropomorphic logic doesn’t work, and they already lived in the river!

But….it’s just so cute! You can’t help but love the beautiful brown line drawings and the ducklings’ silly names. I hadn’t seen this book in 30 years but every page has been etched in my brain the whole time, and I think of it every time I see a mother duck and ducklings walking down an urban street (which is fairly often, another reason why this book just works.) ( )

The classic children's story of the mallard family coming to Boston and interacting wtih the people they find there. Illustrated in charming line drawings.

The classic children's story of the mallard family coming to Boston and interacting wtih the people they find there. Illustrated in charming line drawings.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard proudly return to their home in the Boston Public Garden with their eight offspring.

A great book with beautiful illustrations that children will enjoy. It was first published in 1941. I enjoyed the fabulous illustrations due to how distinct they are. This book has won a Caldecott medal for its illustrations. 80 years after it was first published, it is still widely popular. ( )