TWO MANY BIRDS

When a limited-access tree suddenly attracts too many birds, the guard discovers a fruitful solution.

The story told in this slyly subversive, freely imagined, and wonderfully funny fable begins on the front endpapers. Readers can see that the line to access the 500-year-old tree is very long. Page turns reveal that the tree’s guard is grouchy and lays down many, many rules. The birds dutifully follow most of them, and the tree soon reaches its 100-bird capacity. But, to the delight of the 99 other visitors, the egg one bird is carrying atop its head in a nest made of (apparently) its hair hatches. Twins! Now there are two too many birds. The guard is apoplectic, but the birds revolt to carry him off for a productive timeout. Eventually, working together, birds and guard solve their problem—by planting more trees. The birds’ situation will be familiar to any child who has gone to a public pool in summer, and it’s even more common in today’s world of crowd limits. Derby adds to the child appeal with her cleverly differentiated bird characters and the intriguing side stories. (Watch the line at the birda-potty. And look under the back flap to see what happens when there are “two many turds.”) Created with watercolors and ink, her stylized birds are basically small spheres with legs, varying in color, costume, accessories, and hairdo. The only actual text is the guard’s barked orders, conveyed in speech bubbles, and handwritten signs. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-20-inch double-page spreads viewed at 91.9% of actual size.)

Surprisingly topical and overall egg-cellent.