School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-With the advent of spring, each bird has a song to attract a special friend, but one little bird has forgotten his own song and instead summons various farm animals with barks, oinks, and moos. The growing group of animals put their heads together to help the little bird remember his song until at last a "pretty girl bird" who is also in search of a friend appears to much celebration. Jonas's illustrations are deeply textured with elements of collage and recycled paper, while the animal characters are whimsical and expressive. The humor builds as increasingly unlikely animals, from a cow to a goat to a donkey, gather in the little bird's tree. The colors are muted, and the illustrations use expansive white space so that the animal sounds set in a stylized font seem to hang in the air with each invocation until the little bird realizes that his mishaps have allowed him to make not one but many new friends. VERDICT An engaging seasonal read-aloud for young children and early elementary -students.-Kelly Topita, Anne Arundel -County Public Library, MD © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
All of the birds are singing their spring songs to "attract some friends" ("When Mr. Blackbird sings the 'blackbird song,' Mrs. Blackbird comes flying by"). But for one little bird with spiky head feathers, spring sounds come out as a "woof." A friendly dog answers back and encourages the bird-"Have another go"-but the bird's attempts to sing result in an "oink," a "moo," a "meow," a "meh," and a "hee-haw," along with visits from the corresponding animals. Jonas renders the animals with expressive eyes, streaky color lines, and collage elements. Along with the cast of kind barnyard animals, readers will enthusiastically take part in this gentle readaloud, in which the work of finding one's voice can also mean finding friends. Ages 2-up. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
