Captioned by brief phrases that sometimes give way to entirely wordless pages or spreads, this spare episode celebrates the spirit of compassion in a small child. Crowds of passersby step over an injured pigeon on the sidewalk, but young Will picks it up and makes his mother carry it home. He and his solicitous parents bandage and care for the bird, but will it ever heal? “With rest…and time…and a little hope…a bird may fly again,” is Graham’s reassuring message, and so it proves on the final spread when the released patient soars into the sky. Will’s bright red jacket makes it easy to pick him out amid the paler-hued pedestrians and tall skyscrapers, which unfold in sequential panels and full-page spreads, the illustrator’s “camera” displaying masterful control over pacing and perspective. This isn’t as personal as Matteo Pericoli’s True Story of Stellina (2006), but it will draw a younger audience, and is imbued with the same sensitivity and sense of intimacy. (Picture book. 4-6)
