Riki's Birdhouse
In Truck Driver Tom (2007) and Mr. Cookie Baker (2006), Wellington showed adults on the job, but in this title, a boy does all the work. Bright, clear gouache pictures show young Riki building a birdhouse, step by step, to keep beautiful bluebirds coming back to his yard. Children (and grown-ups) may be puzzled by the absence of adult supervision as Riki measures, saws, glues, hammers, sands, and paints, and then installs the birdhouse in his garden. Appended, detailed assembly instructions do mention, though, that “building a birdhouse does require adult assistance.” What works best here is the overview of all the things that young birdwatchers can do, including tracking the various species through the seasons, keeping a journal, putting out foods, and leaving scraps of fabric and yarn for birds to use in their nests, and kids who already have an interest in birds will enjoy spotting the various species identified on each spread. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Hazel Rochman