Bird Child
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Magical and ethereal do not typically describe tales of bullying, but this lyrical combination of realism and fantasy defies expectation. Eliza is upset about the way other children treat Lainey, but she is afraid to stand up to the boy who particularly delights in tormenting her. Eliza is a "tiny girl with wobbly arms and legs, all skin and bones like a newly hatched bird." From the time she was a baby, her mother would tell her, "Look down and see what is….Now, look up and see what can be." The text says that Eliza can fly, and the illustrations depict her and Lainey looking down at the town. But can she really fly? Readers can decide whether to interpret the story literally or figuratively. The emotion of the tale is reflected in the dramatic, mixed-media illustrations. Each spread has a background of saturated color framed by a soft black border, suggesting vignettes or memories rather than a straightforward narrative, and childlike outline drawings are scattered across the pages. The girls' faces are photo-realistic with painted hair and clothes, resulting in a doll-like effect. The complex images and constantly shifting visual perspective perfectly match the ambiguous nature of the text. This is a beautiful book with a somber tone, buoyed by Eliza and Lainey's triumph in imagining possibilities. They do not fight the bully, but defy him by becoming friends.—Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VAEND