Make Way for Ducklings in May
On Sunday, May 10, the city of Boston celebrated a decades-long tradition: Duckling Day. The duck-themed celebration honors the beloved children’s book Make Way for Ducklings (1941), by Robert McCloskey. Each year, more than 1,000 people parade through Boston’s streets, retracing the pilgrimage of the book’s main characters: Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings. People dress in yellow and celebrate not only McCloskey’s ducklings but all the ducklings spotted in parks and streets in the spring.
This Duckling Day was quite different from previous celebrations. Due to the ongoing pandemic (worldwide outbreak) of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, people celebrated the day virtually (online). The event featured a greeting from the mayor, a video of Duckling Days past, and a reading of Make Way for Ducklings.
While not all fans of ducklings—both real and literary—can visit the bronze statues of Mrs. Mallard and her brood in Boston, people in many parts of the world can enjoy ducklings in their hometowns. Ducks live throughout the world in wetlands, including marshes and areas near rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans—even in city parks.
Ducklings hatch in the springtime. These fluffy go-getters can run, swim, and find food for themselves within 36 hours of hatching. A mother duck keeps her ducklings close to protect them from predators. You might see ducklings trailing their mother—much like Mrs. Mallard’s family. Within a month, ducklings have most of their feathers. They can fly in five to eight weeks. Some people keep ducks as pets, but they must make sure that the ducks are kept in an appropriate environment with enough room to live.
Make Way for Ducklings was not the duckling’s literary debut. Another famous duckling story is “The Ugly Duckling” by the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Andersen tells the story of a funny-looking duck who is teased by many animals and humans. After traveling to a variety of places, the duckling comes upon a spot with the most beautiful birds he had ever seen—swans. He pines, “Oh, to be a beautiful bird.” After a long winter, the duckling sees his reflection in the pond to find he has grown into a swan.