BIRD & BIRDIE IN A FINE DAY

Over the course of three short chapters, blue Bird and yellow Birdie spend “a beautiful morning,” “a wonderful afternoon” and “a marvelous night” getting to know each other. Brightly colored, cartoon-style Photoshop art, coupled with environmental text and speech balloons, deliver a picture book with clear ties to comic art and animation. The bird friends delight in one another’s company in each story—even though a rainstorm, Birdie’s distracting chattiness while Bird is trying to catch a worm and a less-than-cozy nest disrupt their burgeoning connection. Each chapter’s central problem reaches a satisfying resolution, and though the first story hints that they may emerge as lovebirds, Bird and Birdie chastely end up falling asleep in separate nests by book’s end. The controlled, repetitive text positions this picture book as a potentially successful book for beginning readers, though it would also serve well as a read-aloud. (Picture book/early reader. 3-7)