These Books Are For the Birds

I know, I know.  A “cheep” joke.

(I’ll stop-I promise.)

As you have probably already guessed, today’s storytime was centered on birds.  Quite a few of them had to do with a missing/lost mother, which wasn’t planned.  What is it about lost baby birds? Is it the fact that they look so cute and helpless when they are babies?

Choco can’t find his mother; nevertheless, he goes off in search of a mother who looks like him.  He finds a giraffe; he’s yellow, and the giraffe is yellow, so she could be his mother! Right? Well, no.  Neither can Mrs. Penguin, even though she has wings just like Choco.  Neither can Mrs. Walrus, even though she has big round cheeks like Choco. 

Despondent, Choco meets Mrs. Bear.  This brown bear certainly can’t be his mother!  Out of frustration and sadness, he begins to cry.  Mrs. Bear soothes him by asking him what he thinks a mother would do; he sobs that she would hold him, kiss him, and sing and dance with him to cheer him up.  The capable Mrs. Bear knows how to do all these things, and invites him home to join her family.   Mrs. Bear has quite a unique family; even though they don’t look like each other, they all love each other.

A Mother for Choco is a popular choice for adoptive families (our copy was, in fact, donated to the library by a local adoption group), especially multicultural families.  While the market for cross-cultural adoption stories is growing and maturing, many of them focus on a particular country of origin, such as China.  A Mother for Choco is a sweet story that carries a message that is not overly heavy-handed or saccharine.

Nancy Tafuri’s books are terrific for young toddlers; brief yet appealing text and bigbold pictures are well suited for short attention spans.  In Whose Chick Are You?, we discover a soon-t0-be-hatched egg.  It’s not Goose’s egg, nor is it duck’s egg, nor is it hen’s or bird’s egg.  Thankfully, the mystery is revealed when Swan appears; it’s a little swan chick! Mother and baby are happily reunited. 

Although not specifically a springtime book, this would fit in perfectly with a springtime themed storytime, with its story of new life and gentle pastels. 

Baby Birdby Joyce Dunbar is told in a “This is the House That Jack Built” version (the text isn’t cumulative).  Poor baby bird is eager to fly; unfortunately, his intitial attempt is not successful.  A squirrel sniffs at the shaken bird; a bee buzzes, a frog hops, and a cat and bird prove to be treacherous.  Our brave little bird is not a quitter, though, and he gives flying another try.  Is he successful? Of course, he is!

Baby Bird is irresistibly cute; his comic and endearing facial expressions will undoubtedly win you over.  This is not a long story, yet there’s plenty of action for the toddler set.

I’m sure many of you are already familiar with Lois Ehlert’s Feathers for Lunch.  Cat is mighty tired of the same old-same old cat food, and would prefer a gamey meal for a change.  Cat meanders and stalks a variety of delicious looking bird.  Too bad for him, for he wears a bell fastened to his collar.  When that bell comes jingling and jangling, the birds know that Cat is on the loose. “But cats can’t fly and they can’t soar,” so no matter how diligently Cat tries to catch a bird, he only gets feathers for lunch.  Since it’s natural to cheer for the underbird, this is quite a satisfactory ending (unless you’re on the cat’s side). Further information on the fine-feathered friends featured throughout the book is located at the end of the story. Lois Ehlert’s books are awesome read alouds, and this one is no exception.

Books Mentioned:

Dunbar, Joyce.  Baby Bird.  Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1998.

Ehlert, Lois.  Feathers for Lunch.  San Diego: Harcour Brace Jovanovich, 1990.

Kasza, Keiko.  A Mother for Choco.  New York: Putnam, 1992.

Tafuri, Nancy.  Whose Chick Are You?  New York: Greenwillow Books, 2007.

What are your favorite bird books?