Q&A with Emma Bland Smith

 

 

 

 

Emma Bland Smith is the author of the new children's picture book Mr. McCloskey's Marvelous Mallards: The Making of Make Way for Ducklings. Smith's other books include How Science Saved the Eiffel Tower. Also a librarian, she lives in San Francisco.

 

Q: What inspired you to write a picture book biography of Robert McCloskey, creator of the classic book Make Way for Ducklings?

 

A: The behind-the-scenes of writing is usually pretty staid. But I heard this really funny tale about McCloskey and how he did the illustrations for Make Way for Ducklings. He was very young, living in a studio apartment with a roommate in Manhattan. He had written a story about ducks in Boston, and he was having trouble with the illustrations.

 

Finally, out of desperation, he went to a wholesale chef’s market and brought home a box of tiny ducklings. They lived in his apartment for months, creating messes and chaos, as he crawled around after them, sketching. It was so hilarious, I almost thought it was apocryphal—but it really happened!

 

I thought kids would enjoy the humor, and also (hopefully!) appreciate the throughline of the book—that persistence, failure, and trying again is what leads to success.

 

Q: What do you think Becca Stadtlander's illustrations add to the story, and what do you see as the relationship between her illustrations and those of McCloskey himself?

 

A: I was so excited to get Becca on board with this project. I had admired her previous books for several years. Her illustrations have a timeless, folk art look. I love how she contrasted the gravity and seriousness of McCloskey with the hilarity and visual humor of his situation (the ducks!).

She’s also a genius at rendering tiny, evocative details, like a 1940s-era peach can used for storing paintbrushes, or the vintage green bathroom tiles in one of my favorite scenes.

 

Becca’s book dedication is a nod to her relationship with McCloskey’s illustrations: “For all the aspiring illustrators out there. Go buy some ducks.”

 

Q: How did you research the book, and did you learn anything that especially surprised you?

 

A: The story of McCloskey living with ducks was known in the publishing world, and it had been built up and embellished over the years. I read many articles about it with differing accounts. So to be sure I had the facts right, I used his Caldecott acceptance speech, in which he talked all about the episode.

 

I also contacted a scholar who had done a lot of deep research on McCloskey many years ago. And lastly, I corresponded with McCloskey’s daughter, Jane, and had her read the manuscript.

 

I will say that there were a few details I was not able to include in the book. For example, McCloskey gave the ducks wine to slow them down. (I’d like to think he would not have done that in today’s more enlightened climate!)

 

Q: In the book’s author’s note, you describe McCloskey as a perfectionist. How did that trait show up in his work, both in Make Way for Ducklings and in his other classic works?

 

A: He would go to any ends to get his illustrations just right. When he realized sketching stuffed ducks at the museum was not good enough, be brought home a box of ducklings. Then he brought home a box of grown ducks! They turned his life upside down—but it was worth it.

 

I didn’t have space to write about this in the book, but he also made trips to Boston to sketch the real-life places shown in the book. He knew that drawing from life would bring the best results, and that’s why his family, dog, and home show up in most of his other books.

 

He told a funny story about illustrating Blueberries for Sal. Apparently his wife was pregnant with their second child at the time, and she was a bit grumpy at having to pose for him for extended periods.

 

Jane McCloskey told me that she and her sister spent so much of their time posing for their dad, not moving, that later her dentist told her that he had never had a patient so good at staying still!

 

Q: What are you working on now?

 

A: My next book is a picture book biography—The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook, with my brilliant editor Carolyn Yoder. It is being illustrated by Susan Reagan, who has done other historical works and is amazing at bringing history to life.

 

If I could, I would do nothing but cook and mess around in the kitchen all day long, so I’m incredibly excited to finally be writing a book about cooking and food! We are including two recipes in the book—popovers and angel food cake. Stay tuned for 2024!

 

Q: Anything else we should know?

 

A: I just want to say thank you to everyone out there for reading this, and for being so supportive. To all the new and aspiring authors—hang in there! I submitted for years and years before finally breaking in and finding my niche.

 

--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Emma Bland Smith.