From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K—Bird wakes up one morning feeling out of sorts-too grumpy to eat, too grumpy to play, and even too grumpy to fly. "Looks like I'm walking today," he grumbles. On his way, he passes a succession of happy-go-lucky animals, including a sheep, a rabbit, and a beaver, all of whom ask him what he is doing. "Walking," he responds, more and more testily, and each creature decides to join him. Eventually, the walk turns into an impromptu game of follow-the-leader, and Bird finds himself having so much fun that he forgets to be grumpy. Finally, he invites them all to fly back to his nest with him, and, oddly enough, they do. This straightforward story is enlivened by unusual mixed-media illustrations. Each scene consists of sketches of farmland or trees, layered over photographs of real farms and trees. Cheerful flowers and stars are scribbled throughout. The animal characters are simplistic cartoons with thick black outlines and comical facial expressions. The slightly psychedelic quality of the art works to foreshadow the whimsical ending, which otherwise comes as a surprise after the wry, sarcastic tone of the rest of the story.
Grumpy Bird would make a good addition to storytimes with themes of emotions or imagination.—
Rachael Vilmar, Atlanta Fulton Public Library, GA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for Grumpy Bird:
- Nominee, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, 2008
- Nominee, CBA Libris Award, Children's Illustrator of the Year, 2008
- Shortlist, The Amelia Francess Howard-Gibbon Illustrator's Award, 2008
- Nominee, Shining Willow Award, 2007
- OLA Best Bets, 2007
- CBC Sounds Like Canada Children's Book Panel Selection
- Nominee, Blue Spruce Award, 2007
- Toronto Public Library "First & Best" booklist
- Los Angeles Times Favorite Books of 2007
- Nominee, Early Years NIagara Literary Award
"Jeremy Tankard's deceptively simple tale is a useful tonic for mood kids — and their parents — but the best thing about it is the comic perfection of Bird's face as he marches along in a fury." — The Wall Street Journal
--This text refers to the
Board book
edition.
