Make Way for Ducklings won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for McCloskey’s illustrations.
Story Review:
It’s not easy for duck parents to find a safe place to bring up their ducklings, but during a rest stop in Boston’s Public Garden, Mr. and Mrs. Mallard think they just might have found the perfect spot–no foxes or turtles in sight, plenty of peanuts from pleasant passers-by, and the benevolent instincts of a kindly police officer to boot. Young readers will love the mother duck’s proud, loving protection of her wee webbed ones, and those with fond memories of Boston will enjoy familiar locales, from Beacon Hill to Louisburg Square, and over the Charles River–often from a duck’s-eye view. –Karin Snelson
讓路給小鴨子
野鴨 馬拉 太太在波士頓城外河中小島上生了八隻小鴨。當小鴨學會走路後， 馬拉 太太要帶他們走回波士頓公園去住。他們一家人要如何穿越城內交通最繁忙的街道和十字路口呢？這就是這本生動活潑圖畫書要告訴您的。
Teaching tips:
1. Play the flash file.
2. Divide the students into 6 groups and ask each group to copy the scrip for 2 minutes. (Total 11:13)
3. Tell everyone your part and discuss the main idea of the story.
4. Ask students some questions about the plot.
5. Write down a sentence pattern you learn from this story and make a sentence.
Suggested questions:
1. What were Mr. & Mrs. Marllard looking for?
–> A place to live.
2. What place did Mr. & Mrs. Marllard decide to live in?
–> Boston Public Garden.
3. What did they eat in the place they live?
–> Peanuts.
4. How many ducklings did Mr. & Mrs. Marllard hatch?
–> Eight.
5. What were the ducklings names?
–> Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack.
6. The ducklings’ names are in rhyme. What’s the rhyme?
–> ack.
7. What did Mrs. Marllard teach her ducklings?
–> She taught how to swim, how to dive, to walk in a line to come when they were called, and to keep a distance from bikes and scooters and other things with wheels.
8. Who helped the Marllard family to cross the road, and what’s his job?
–> Michael, the policeman.
9. What does the writer try to tell us?
–> We should protect animals.
