Bird Show

A posh performance to read aloud or alone. 

PreS-Gr 2--This stunning title celebrates birds using brilliant colors and rhyming verse. As in her 2011 picture book Bring on the Birds, Stockdale honors the incredible diversity of birds, their habitats, and unique adaptations. Like models in a fashion show, each bird describes its traits and characteristics. For example, the cardinal proclaims, "My coat has one color," and the yellow-breasted chat declares, "My apron is yellow." The featured birds and their natural environments are identified in thumbnails at the end of the text, and their descriptive names paint a vivid picture. The included quiz to match colors and patterns to the respective bird completes the text and keeps readers engaged. Although cataloged in the natural sciences, Stockdale's mellifluous prose deserves to be classified as literature and her vibrant acrylic illustrations are art. VERDICT Wonderful for reading aloud and sharing; recommended for every library to introduce art, poetry, and glorious birds to young readers and lucky listeners.--Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax Cty. P.L., VA

In spirited rhymes, author-illustrator Stockdale introduces 18 birds from around the world, showcasing broad variations found across nature by describing the birds' daily "fashion show." Simple couplets boast bouncy metaphors that compare feathered looks to items of human clothing and accessories, relayed through the first-person perspective of each fowl: "I flaunt a full skirt/ of milky-white lace," reads a spread featuring the Great Egret, followed by a page showing the Yellow-breasted Chat ("My apron is yellow") and another featuring the Superb-Bird-of-Paradise ("my dress has a face"). Sharp, streamlined illustrations clearly depict each bird and its distinctive plumage alongside thick, colorful borders and spare prose in a book that will surely appeal to the littlest bird watchers--and fashion designers. Back matter includes a guide to each of the birds pictured, including their native habitats, as well as a seek-and-find for the birds' patterns. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)