Poor tiny Birdie has no house. But Birdie does have friends. Spike, Queenie, Goldie, and Fidget want to help Birdie find a house of his own. Birdie needs a house that isn't too tall and isn't too thin, that isn't too short and isn't too fat, and that isn't too wide and isn't too narrow. Will they find a house for Birdie before the rain falls and the wind blows? A sweet and simple story about helping out a friend explains the math concept of capacity -- what will fit in a container of a particular shape and size.
A young artist's drawings rebel against her when she tries to put her sketched birds in houses that match how they look, but not how they feel in this hilarious picture book perfect for readers of Julian is a Mermaid and The Big Orange Splot. A young artist has drawn birds and bird houses in corresponding colors. Now it's time to match them up. The blue bird goes in the blue house, the orange bird in the orange house, and so on. But wait! The birds don't agree with the narrator's choices and, much to her distress, are rebelling by swapping houses. Can the narrator make the birds see sense? Or is it possible that you just can't tell a bird by its feathers? "This bighearted picture book delivers a worthwhile message with humor and great respect for young readers."--The Horn Book "A fresh and funny take on an old moral."--Kirkus "Both Maynor’s dialogue text and Juanita’s digital art have a loose, improvisational feel that captures the thrill and frustration of a work in progress—and the value of empathy and flexibility in getting to know others."--Publishers Weekly "Use this to open a discussion on using words rather than assumptions, or as an introduction to the way art can go in unexpected directions."--The Bulletin
A grandmother and grandchild nurse an injured bird together in this touching story about caring for all creatures, the wonder of nature, and letting go On a snowy day, a grandmother and grandchild find an injured bird. They take it home and care for it until it can fly around the living room. It is fantastic—just like everything at Abuela’s house! But a fantastic moment is also bittersweet, for the little bird’s recovery means that it’s time to let it fly free. Drawing inspiration from a formative childhood experience, Blanca Gómez crafts a deceptively simple story that is morally and emotionally resonant and is brimming with love, wonder, and a deep respect for the natural world.
A Bird in the House is a series of eight interconnected short stories narrated by Vanessa MacLeod as she matures from a child at age ten into a young woman at age twenty. Wise for her years, Vanessa reveals much about the adult world in which she lives. "Vanessa rebels against the dominance of age; she watches [her grandfather] imitate her aunt Edna; and her rage at times is such that she would gladly kick him. It takes great skill to keep this story within the expanding horizon of this young girl and yet make it so revealing of the adult world."—Atlantic "A Bird in the House achieves the breadth of scope which we usually associate with the novel (and thereby is as psychologically valid as a good novel), and at the same time uses the techniques of the short story form to reveal the different aspects of the young Vanessa." —Kent Thompson, The Fiddlehead "I am haunted by the women in Laurence's novels as if they really were alive—and not as women I've known, but as women I've been."—Joan Larkin, Ms. Magazine "Not since . . . To Kill a Mockingbird has there been a novel like this. It should not be missed by anyone who has a child or was a child."—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette One of Canada's most accomplished writers, Margaret Laurence (1926-87) was the recipient of many awards including Canada's prestigious Governor General's Literary Award on two separate occasions, once for The Diviners.
"When ten-year-old Birdie's dad is sent back to Iraq, she makes a deal with God to bring him home safely, while dealing with a new school where she finds it hard to make friends especially when she could use one"--
To make a bird, you'll need hundreds of tiny, hollow bones, so light you can barely feel them on your palm, so light they can float on air. Next you'll need feathers, for warmth and lift. There will be more besides - perhaps shells and stones for last touches - but what will finally make your bird tremble with dreams of open sky and soaring flight? This picture book shows how even the smallest of things, combined with wonder and a steady heart, can transform into works of magic.
The poems in House Bird drill deep beneath the surface of domestic life, finding the essential truth in the tension between what gets said and what goes unsaid, exploring the consequences of speaking and the consequences of remaining silent. Fillman reveals how vulnerable we are, even in our own bedrooms, basements, driveways. Like in the Hopper and Wyeth paintings that inspire some of his poems, he finds the mood between desire and loneliness, that feeling so profound and universal that we can only bow our heads in recognition. A remarkable debut by a promising young poet. -Jim Daniels
