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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
I'm always amazed by picture books that take a complex issue and break it down so beautifully for kiddos to "get it". Here we have a nerdy birdy who hangs around the cool birds, but they don't have anything in common. The cool birds only seem to care about their stuff (being strong, showing off, etc). One day this little nerdy birdy meets an entire flock of nerdy birds that all like the same stuff as him. He's finally found his people! But when a new non-cool bird moves to town, our little nerdy birdy learns that even the nerdiest bunch of birds can be pretty unwelcoming. A great message perfect for those little humans starting school and trying to find where they fit in.
This perfectly encapsulates two things. 1) The moment when an outcast person finds their tribe. Yes! What a feeling!! Alone no more! And then 2) The moment when you turn on someone else -- and realize no one, not even former outcasts, is above clique-iness. Pretty deep for a picture book, no? The social inclusiveness lessons here are great without being heavy-handed.
I more nuanced treatment of the whole nerd vs. cool people paradigm then most stories aimed at adults.
At first, nerdy birdy feels lonely because the cool birdies, Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin don't want anything to do with him. When a big group of nerdy birds invites him to join them, he feels excepted and also realizes that Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin's elite-ness kind of cuts them off and must make them lonely.
The story could stop there but it adds an even better message. Vulture moves to town and is shunned by Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin but when Nerdy Birdy invites her to join him and his new friends, they object because she isn't a REAL nerd, she's just weird and gross. But, Nerdy Birdy likes Vulture even though they don't share every interest, so they leave the nerdy group behind too.
I don't know if the kids this book is aimed at are going to retain this message about gate-keeping until they reach the age when labels like "cool" or "nerdy" really come into play but I hope they will. And I don't know if it was intentional that Vulture is female and non of the other birds appear to be, but if so, it was appreciated.
At first, nerdy birdy feels lonely because the cool birdies, Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin don't want anything to do with him. When a big group of nerdy birds invites him to join them, he feels excepted and also realizes that Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin's elite-ness kind of cuts them off and must make them lonely.
The story could stop there but it adds an even better message. Vulture moves to town and is shunned by Eagle, Cardinal, and Robin but when Nerdy Birdy invites her to join him and his new friends, they object because she isn't a REAL nerd, she's just weird and gross. But, Nerdy Birdy likes Vulture even though they don't share every interest, so they leave the nerdy group behind too.
I don't know if the kids this book is aimed at are going to retain this message about gate-keeping until they reach the age when labels like "cool" or "nerdy" really come into play but I hope they will. And I don't know if it was intentional that Vulture is female and non of the other birds appear to be, but if so, it was appreciated.
Funny book about being friends and not needing to "fit in" with the cool birds... ummm, kids. Great illustrations!
The illustrations were delightful and expressive. The message is certainly appropriate and valuable for young children, particularly the secondary tier bullying. For myself, though, I found it to be too much with the stereotypical "cool" birds and "nerdy birds." I actually thought the vulture element was the best bit, because it added some more nuance to the whole premise that everyone fits into the "cool" kids and the "nerdy" kids, which we all know isn't really true.
a very cute book - I am definitely nerdy birdy! I like that this represents two layers to being excluded - by the cool kids and even by the nerds.
