Bird Show

Starred review from March 1, 2021

PreS-Gr 2-This stunning title celebrates birds using brilliant colors and rhyming verse. As in her 2011 picture book Bring on the Birds, Stockdale honors the incredible diversity of birds, their habitats, and unique adaptations. Like models in a fashion show, each bird describes its traits and characteristics. For example, the cardinal proclaims, "My coat has one color," and the yellow-breasted chat declares, "My apron is yellow." The featured birds and their natural environments are identified in thumbnails at the end of the text, and their descriptive names paint a vivid picture. The included quiz to match colors and patterns to the respective bird completes the text and keeps readers engaged. Although cataloged in the natural sciences, Stockdale's mellifluous prose deserves to be classified as literature and her vibrant acrylic illustrations are art. VERDICT Wonderful for reading aloud and sharing; recommended for every library to introduce art, poetry, and glorious birds to young readers and lucky listeners.-Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2021
Birds strut their stuff in a feather fashion show. Using rhyming couplets set on clean, bright pages, Stockdale introduces 18 spectacular birds from around the world, imagining their plumage as clothes. The opening couplet reminds readers that all birds are "decked out in feathers." A concluding paragraph reinforces the concept--only birds have feathers. Even the endpapers show feathers. From the European bee-eater (found in Africa, Europe, and western Asia) to Central and South America's scarlet macaw, these striking birds pose in acrylic paintings, each resplendent in saturated colors and accompanied by its own imagined self-description. A suit, a scarf, an apron, even a fan, a crown, a train--these birds wear 18 different pieces of clothing or fashion accessories. The clever comparisons suggest a new way to see and remember these species. Some are familiar to U.S.-based readers (starling, cardinal, flicker) and some less so (marvellous spatuletail and resplendent quetzal). Three different birds of paradise show off astonishing tails. While some vocabulary might be challenging for a fledgling reader, the smoothly written couplets follow a predictable pattern (one long sentence, two short) and are set in a large font. As in Fantastic Flowers (2017), Bring on the Birds (2011), and other earlier works, the writer supplies thumbnails in the backmatter, with text identifying each bird, noting generally where it might be found, and explaining a bit more about its remarkable features. There's even a match-the-colors-and-patterns puzzle. A posh performance to read aloud or alone. (Informational picture book. 2-7)

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January 1, 2021
Preschool-Grade 2 The author-illustrator of Stripes of All Types (2013) and Fantastic Flowers (2017), Stockdale now introduces children to birds that are particularly well "dressed." A simple, rhyming text represents each bird's point of view in turn, beginning with a Mandarin duck, a northern cardinal, and a Steller's jay: "I boast an outfit of every hue. / My coat has one color, / my jacket has two." Painted in acrylics, most pictures showcase one bird and sometimes present only its showiest feature, such as the head of a grey crowned crane, topped with a splendid fan of plumes. In the final illustration, two children watch as a line of 14 scarlet macaws fly overhead. The back matter comments on why male birds are sometimes more brightly colored than their mates, and then repeats each illustration in miniature, identifying the bird's species, its worldwide geographical range, and its characteristics and related behaviors. With a brief text and clearly delineated, vibrant artwork that shows up well from a distance, this book is a natural for reading aloud during preschool or primary-grade bird units.

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June 14, 2021
In spirited rhymes, author-illustrator Stockdale introduces 18 birds from around the world, showcasing broad variations found across nature by describing the birds’ daily “fashion show.” Simple couplets boast bouncy metaphors that compare feathered looks to items of human clothing and accessories, relayed through the first-person perspective of each fowl: “I flaunt a full skirt/ of milky-white lace,” reads a spread featuring the Great Egret, followed by a page showing the Yellow-breasted Chat (“My apron is yellow”) and another featuring the Superb-Bird-of-Paradise (“my dress has a face”). Sharp, streamlined illustrations clearly depict each bird and its distinctive plumage alongside thick, colorful borders and spare prose in a book that will surely appeal to the littlest bird watchers—and fashion designers. Back matter includes a guide to each of the birds pictured, including their native habitats, as well as a seek-and-find for the birds’ patterns. Ages 2–6.