City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

Robert McCloskey (1914-2003)
Make Way for Ducklings
New York: The Viking Press, 1969

I’ve had a wonderful time thinking about my favorite
book. At first, of course, I went through the usuals:
Pride and Prejudice, probably the first “grown up book”
I fell in love with. Or Death Comes for Archbishop.
Or Nobody’s Fool or other Richard Russo books I love.

But really my favorite book of all time is…Make Way
for Ducklings. I was obsessed by it as a child and one of
the truly electric moments of my life (and I’ve had some
pretty electric moments!) was standing, at six years old,
holding my mother’s hand in the Boston Public Garden
and watching the Swan Boat arrive, just as it did in
the book. It was my first trip to New England (from
Louisiana) and all I wanted to do was to see the
Swan Boat.

What I love most about Make Way for Ducklings is the
triumph of faith and trust in the goodness of people’s
hearts. And, of course, that divine policeman.

Susan Buckley (member)