You and the Bowerbird
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Follow the Satin Bowerbird as he searches for the perfect welcome mat for his new home, in this delightfully colorful and action-packed nonfiction tale by award winning author Maria Gianferrari, and illustrated by comic-star Maris Wicks.
Just on the edge of the rainforest,
Between your house and the trees,
Bowerbirds collect, pillage, and steal!
They swoop through the air,
And creep around the forest floor,
Searching for pretty objects everywhere…
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As playful as it is informative, this simplified graphical narrative combines the labeled sketches of a child's field journal with mildly slapstick incidents in the life of an Australian satin bowerbird. Satin, as the child calls the bird, builds an elaborate twig bower and collects blue objects to attract green-feathered Pea, a prospective mate ("A rosella parrot feather waits like a welcome mat"). When other male bowerbirds loot the installation, the child—a note-taker portrayed with brown skin—surreptitiously donates a blue sock to replace the lost swag. Gianferrari's lively descriptions and surprised exclamations establish a breezy tone (continued in "Bower Power" back matter), while Wicks varies angles and perspectives, sometimes supplying a birder's view in goggle-shaped "binocular" panels. Comical cartoons and an enthusiastic documentary voice make for a splendid and informative read-aloud. Ages 4–8.
