The Birdwatchers
Things happen when Jess's granddad goes bird watching. Sometimes, when   he makes drawings of the birds, they make drawings of him, too. And when he   can't find their names in the bird book, his obliging feathered friends help him   out. Well, at least this is the story Granddad tells Jess. Intrigued, she just   has to find out for herself. The first thing Jess notices when they arrive in   the woods is... nothing. Not a bird in sight, even when she uses Granddad's   binoculars. But by day's end, Jess has seen plenty of birds--including a pair of   dancing penguins who share her sandwich.Simon James's (Dear Mr.   Blueberry,Leon and   Bob, etc.) dry comic timing is simply flawless in this warm, thoroughly   appealing picture book. Expressive ink and watercolor illustrations capture the   gentle balance between make-believe and real, most poignantly when we see a   couple of penguins unobtrusively waddling after Jess and her granddad as they   make their way home. (Ages 4 to 8)--Emilie Coulter