I dusted off the old party-planning hat for The Horn Book's holiday celebration last week — the first outing since my return to the HB in October. This year's outing was a hybrid lunch/field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts. There was delicious food (and wine!) at the MFA's snazzy restaurant Bravo, good conversation, and lots of beautiful art.





The major reason for choosing the MFA as our venue? That beautiful art currently includes the exhibit Make Way for Ducklings: The Art of Robert McCloskey. As you might imagine from the exhibit title, McCloskey's Caldecott-winning (and famously beloved-by-Bostonians) picture book about Mrs. and Mr. Mallard and their search for a perfect home for their ducklings was front and center.









Of course, sketches and original art from McCloskey's other children's books — Blueberries for Sal, One Morning in Maine, Burt Dow, Deep-water Man, Time of Wonder, and the Homer Price books — were also well represented.



What a treat to see these pieces of children's lit history with my fellow children's lit aficionados! The exhibit runs until June 18th; don't miss it!



Happy holidays and happy new year to you and yours from The Horn Book! May your new year be full of good books.