Make Way for . . . Time

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Mr. Kolenkhov is the Russian dance teacher in one of our favorite Jimmy Stewart movies, You Can’t Take It With You. After helping to roll back the rug to give Essie ballet lessons in the family living room, he pulls his shirttail out of his pants and declares, “Art is 110% sweat.”

Ray and I learned that same lesson while we were in Cincinnati earlier this month. When we arrived at the Cincinnati Art Museum to see the Chinese Terracotta Army exhibition, we were delighted to learn that the museum had another special exhibit: Make Way for Ducklings: The Art of Robert McCloskey.

If you ever have an opportunity to see original book illustrations, I encourage you to take advantage of it. This can greatly increase your children’s appreciation for both art and literature. It is also powerful to see the results of a strong work ethic firsthand.

For those of you who live near Cincinnati, the free exhibit devoted to the work of Robert McCloskey is scheduled to continue through September 9 (I recommend checking online or calling first to make sure).

On display were original drawings and paintings from Make Way for Ducklings, Blueberries for Sal, Time of Wonder, One Morning in Maine, Lentil, Homer Price, Centerburg Tales: More Adventures of Homer Price, and others. Not only did we have the thrill of seeing the original artwork that ended up in McCloskey’s books, we also learned about what lay behind his success as an illustrator.

• We saw illustrations McCloskey made and later remade before he could create the ones that ended up in his books.
• We learned about McCloskey’s patience as he worked with editors.
• We found out ways that McCloskey’s own childhood influenced his work.
• We saw how his wife and children inspired his work.

The museum also displayed McCloskey’s real Caldecott Medals, one for Make Way for Ducklings and another for Time of Wonder. The displays illustrated some of that “110% sweat” that happened before he won those medals.

When Robert McCloskey learned about a family of ducks that stopped traffic in Boston, he made an early version of Make Way for Ducklings and showed it to an editor. She told him that he needed to learn a lot more about ducks. He studied mallards for two years at a natural history museum. He also bought real ducks to use as models and moved them into his apartment. He watched them swim in his bathtub and crawled around on the floor to get a bird’s-eye view of how they waddled.

McCloskey wanted Make Way for Ducklings to be in color. His editor decided that would be too expensive. The book is in brown ink instead.

McCloskey continued his dedication to detail. When he wrote and illustrated Blueberries for Sal, he sketched bears at Central Park Zoo and blueberry plants at the New York Botanical Garden.

As you think about goals for your children’s learning this fall, don’t forget the 110% sweat lessons and don’t forget to Make Way for . . . Time. Many worthwhile endeavors take a lot of it.

 Poor is he who works with a negligent hand,
But the hand of the diligent makes rich.
Proverbs 10:4

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