By Brittany Smith

“Happy birthday, dear ducklings, happy birthday to you,” sang Nancy Schon, Mayor Thomas Menino and others gathered at the Boston Public Gardens Saturday, Sept. 29.

Schon, creator of the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture, hosted the 20th birthday party for the ducks. Community members posed for pictures with the nine ducks, which have been adorned with Red Sox scarves, Halloween costumes and Santa hats in past years.

Completed in 1987, the sculpture pays tribute to Robert McCloskey’s 1941 children’s book, “Make Way for Ducklings,” which many college students may remember from childhood. The story follows Mr. and Mrs. Mallard as they make their way through Boston to find a home for their ducklings in the Public Garden.

Schon’s children and grandchildren helped her recite the names of all eight ducklings: Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack. After blowing out the candles on the ducks’ cake, Schon signed autographs for fans of the book and sculpture. A man sang children’s music with an acoustic guitar and face painting entertained the crowd of partygoers, who donned party hats, beaks and painted ducks on their cheeks.

Menino spoke highly of the ducks, which have “found a home in Boston.”

Boston hosts the mother’s day parade, which ends at the Make Way for Ducklings Statue each year, Menino said.

The ducks have made their mark internationally, too. In 1991, former First Lady Barbara Bush took Raisa Gorbachev, wife of the former Soviet president, to visit the ducklings in the Boston Public Gardens. A duplicate sculpture can be found in a Moscow park, a gift from the children of the United States.

“It means an enormous amount that she created something that can be such a part of Boston,” said the sculptor’s daughter, Elizabeth Schon Vainer, of Melrose. “Our family is very proud that our mother has inspired so many who grew up with the book.”