ODD BIRDS

Who doesn’t want to take flight and soar sometimes?

Young ornithologist wannabes or children simply dreaming about taking to the skies would do well to cast their eyes on this thought-provoking, dazzlingly colored little book filled with some examples of wonderful birds with rather unusual physical characteristics and narrated in punchy, rhythmic verse. Readers/listeners will pick up facts about some fascinating avians that possess weird attributes, such as blue feet, baldness, enormous beaks, oversized red pouches, and imperviousness to high temperatures. Here’s a tidbit that will really make kids sit up and take notice: The hoatzin smells like poop! In the end, though, the text confronts kids with a fact that will truly give them pause: Since humans don’t have beaks or feathers, maybe birds think that we're the odd ones. No surprise, then, that on the cover, a bird with mesmerizingly huge round eyes stares directly out at readers—unwinged us—in wonder. Set against stylized backgrounds, the boldly hued illustrations depict the birds realistically in terms of color, shape, and characteristic. Notably for a board book, there’s factual backmatter here: a small color photograph of each bird named in the text along with interesting facts about each one and an explanation of the odd feature mentioned in the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A winning mix of illuminating facts and charming artwork—this book definitely isn’t for the birds.