Review by Booklist Review
Spink's colorful, bulbous birds look as if they've flown out of a stained-glass window in this concept book for young readers. Highlighting a variety of traits, the rhythmic text tells how some birds swoop / and some birds squawk / some birds soar high, / while some birds just walk. Each descriptive phrase is illustrated with a unique bird sometimes easily identifiable, such as an eagle or penguin, other times more generic in appearance. Neutral backgrounds showcase the birds' vibrant plumage, and the colorful text is often printed to mimic a bird's movement or characteristic. Letters rest akimbo as birds flutter and flap, while a sentence curves above a sparrowlike fellow making high-arching hops. After seeing many different ways birds can look, sound, or move, readers encounter a dejected bird in a cage. Happily, though, its confinement is short-lived. The large, uncluttered illustrations make this book easy to share with a group, and its simple text lends itself well to preschool storytimes.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Colorful, barrel-chested birds with extravagant plumage in geometrical shapes star in this visually rich offering. "Some birds twitch,/ some birds tweet,/ and some birds swim fast with webbed flipper feet," reads a typically upbeat rhyme. It's less an introduction to specific birds than a freewheeling poem, though readers will likely recognize penguins, an eagle, and a woodpecker that makes holes "with a rat-a-tat-tat!" There's a hint of 1970s-era psychedelia in the birds' feathers; with thick outlines and jewel-like colors, they resemble kaleidoscope patterns. Spink also emphasizes how being a free bird beats the alternative: "Some birds are caged,/ but most birds are free./ A much better life I'm sure you'll agree." Ages 3-5. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-While the mosaic birds in Spink's debut picture book waddle, hop, and pop (when they eat too many worms), they look out at readers with wide-eyed stares. Their feathers are replaced with intricate patterns, but their colors hint at their identity. The red, white, and black bird that is rat-a-tat-tatting a hole in a tree is a woodpecker, and the large blue bird with the white head is an eagle. The rest of them could be wild songbirds, pet birds, or ducks, but the one thing they have in common with humans is revealed at the back of the book, and it will resonate with all readers. VERDICT Storytime audiences will be encouraged to guess the rhyming words and imitate the actions of the birds; an engaging addition.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In steady rhythm and meter, Spink highlights and contrasts general characteristics of birds: "Some birds are big, / some birds are small / and some birds are just incredibly tall." A lack of narrative flow and the didactic message that birds should not be caged hinder the text, but it is secondary; the book is primarily a graphically dynamic showcase for the eye-catching, jewel-toned Zentangle-style birds. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Simple rhymes in bold print cavort among kaleidoscopic images of birds. "Some birds are BIG, / some birds are small," begins a book with equally entertaining art, layout, and text. The bird whose size description rhymes with "small" is, of course, "incredibly tall," its fanciful, partridgelike bulk balanced atop legs that stretch over two pages, requiring readers to hold the book vertically and read words sideways from the bird's feet up. All the birds are fashioned from bold, dark lines, their bodies filled in with patterns and colors that evoke 1960s mod album covers. Not all are generic: it is obviously a bald eagle that "soars high" and a pair of penguins that "waddle." Despite geometric beaks and big, cartoonish eyes, the birds look alive and seem to have personalities. Beginning readers will enjoy the Seussian ease of the rhymes, and younger children will soon have the short text memorized. The light tone makes it clear that "some birds eat worms until they go pop!" is not a fact but a joke that allows both a rhyme with "hop" and a sly illustration of scattered feathers without any visible bird. Toward the end, there is a stark contrast between a lone, caged birdlooking quite forlornand a flock of joyous, multicolored birds, illustrating the sole didactic couplet of the text. Endearing and great fun to share. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
