Robert McCloskey (1914-2003) authored and drew some of the most well-known children's books. The Caldecott Medal was given to both Make Way for Ducklings and Time of Wonder for the most outstanding picture book of the year, and Blueberries for Sal and One Morning in Maine were designated Caldecott Honor Books. Homer Price, McCloskey's picture of a archetypal American boyhood, is set in Hamilton, Ohio, where McCloskey grew up. He studied art at Boston's Saint George School of Art and completed his education at New York's National Academy of Design. He won the Prix de Rome, but decided to postpone his study abroad until after WWII.

Following that, he and his wife, Margaret Durand, relocated to Maine, where they raised their two daughters and McCloskey found inspiration for several of his works. Robert McCloskey's ducklings are preserved as bronze statues in Boston's Public Gardens, where countless youngsters come to see them. He leaves a legacy of books that have been popular for decades.