This is one of our family's favorite books in the "non-religious" category. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are looking for a safe place to start their duck family. They make friends with Michael the policeman who helps Mrs. Mallard and the ducklings make their way safely to the Public Garden to meet up with Mr. Mallard. The illustrations are SO charming - my children ask for this over and over. I like the recently reprinted full-sized paperback edition, with the original brown-and-white illustrations, better than the smaller and somewhat less-expensive version published by Scholastic.