Eep! by Joke van Leeuwen is really one of the best children’s books I’ve read in a long time. It started out with 3 words that just grabbed me, Warren likes birds. He is married to Tina. They seem to live a rather ordinary life, filled with repetition, doing the same old-same old, like most of us. We get into our habits, our comfortable routines. They have as well. Until one day Warren sees a new kind of baby bird, a part human bird. He brings her home and it is love at first site—they decide to keep her. She becomes their daughter in many senses and they just love her to pieces. They name her Birdy but since that isn’t easy for her to pronounce, they change it to Beedy, as she cheeps out things like a bird, rather than speaking fully. Beedy is more bird-like than she is like a human and Warren and Tina struggle to protect her and keep her safe. Tina struggles a little more than Warren and tries to force Beedy into shoes that don’t fit comfortably, both literally and figuratively. So, off Beedy flies… to explore the world, just like a bird. Along the way she meets Lottie, a lonely little girl and a well-meaning fireman–emergency responder. Warren and Tina are very sad when she leaves so they set off to find her, breaking all their normal routines, all their comfort zones. Off they go to find their little Beedy. True to her nature, Beedy flies away from everyone but she also returns, a different kind of migration. All of them end up in Getovertel — get-over-tel— a hotel of sorts where people go to get over things, to get through their issues. And then… You can read the book to find out the rest but it will be worth it. This was really an unexpected treasure of a book for me. I love love love birds and this story just resonated with me. It is written with silliness included, quirky little sketches and digressions—a book after my own heart. Birds, quirkiness and digressions. What more could you want from a children’s book? Here are some random screenshots from...

The Bird King by Shaun Tan I am a fan of Shaun Tan’s work. He creates these beautiful stories with no words, just pictures. They say more than words could say. So, when I saw his new book, The Bird King, I knew I had to read it. In this book he shares his sketches, his unfinished work, his unpublished work–he shares pieces of his sketchbook and thought processes. I think the following quote from the author sums it up, One of the joys of drawing is that meaning can be constantly postponed, and there is no real pressure to “say” anything special when working privately in a sketchbook. This book lefts so much unsaid. It leaves us to feel, think and find our own version of the story beginning (or ending). These are some of my favorite sketches, they really moved me for various reasons: This last one is my favorite. I think so much of it tells a story I am familiar with intimately. I love it. This book is well worth the...

Birds of a Feather: a book of idioms and silly pictures by Vanita Oelschlager is a delightful, colorful book filled with fun idioms (many bird related). Each idiom has a vibrant, silly illustration depicting the literal take on the sayings, such as “Bird of feather, flock together” and “Wild Good Chase”. My very favorite was “Ants in your pants” hahahahaha… hilarious illustration. In addition to the lovely illustrations, each idiom has an explanation what it means and an example sentence to give context to the meaning. I love it! I am a huge word-nerd and I love the idea of learning more idioms and their meanings. This is a fun book for all ages to read and to look...

I love birds.       I love books. I often read books about birds.         And so, I have decided I will start a specific set of posts reviewing books about birds. I will let you know once I do my first. =) And if you read any good books about birds or bird books, I would love to hear about them. Recommend...

…for I have sinned. It has been 4 days since my last post. Life has held me hostage. I’ve barely had the chance to even pick up a book, let alone write about them or photograph them but don’t worry, I still love them. It is deep rooted in every fiber of my being. For now, I want to share this amazing book photo I found on flickr,...

I guess I am not so good at hiding my addiction as I thought I was… I have been informed by unmentionable parties that more of my ‘stashes’ have been found… Drats! Where to next…?