BIRD, BIRD, BIRD!
(A Chirping Chant)
by April Pulley Sayre & illustrated by Gary Locke
“Puffin, Pelican, Roadrunner, Rail. / Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Quail Quail Quail!” Following up on Trout, Trout, Trout! (A Fish Chant) (2004) and Ant, Ant, Ant! (An Insect Chant) (2005), Sayre continues her bid for the role of nature’s cheerleader with this gallery of American birds. Locke pumps the energy up even further with frenetic scenes of big avian caricatures that resemble their living models enough for recognition, but feature popping eyes, occasional articles of clothing and, often, oversized human teeth. In the backmatter, the author provides a sentence of two of information about each of the dozens of names she drops, and also properly suggests that a more systematic guide to birds (she mentions one) be kept close by to answer the questions that are sure to be posed by children in the wake of this exuberant shout-out. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)