Picture Book Pick: Not Your Nest!

Not Your Nest!
by Gideon Sterer
Illustrations by Andrea Tsurumi
Dial Books for Young Readers
2019
40 pages
ISBN: 9781534429819

An industrious yellow bird builds a lovely nest for herself and is proud of her accomplishments. When she's finally ready to rest and enjoy her hard work, she finds other animals are just as pleased with her beautiful nest.

She is surprised when a  zebra (on the cover), a larger bird, a brush hog, a giraffe, a gorilla, a crocodile and other animals loungevin her nest. She moves on--building nest after nest until the tree breaks and the animals have to find another place to rest.

They are happy to share their nest with the sweet bird who took them in.

Young readers will laugh out loud at the animals' pushiness to "share" the bird's nest. Illustrations by Tsurumi are hysterical and capture each animal's personality and emotions.

Likely to become a bedtime favorite, kids will love to name all the animals they encounter. This is a must have for any young reader. Cutest book of the year!

Highly recommended for all preschool readers and animal lovers.

Early Reader Pick: A Funny Little Bird

A Funny Little Bird
by Jennifer Yerkes
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
2013
48 pages

Whimsical, tender, and terrific, A Funny Little Bird will entertain young readers. A lonely little bird who feels invisible and unappreciated dresses up in finery borrowed from nature--feathers borrowed from another far pretttier and ostentacious bird and beautiful leaves from plants and flowers, and he gets noticed for the first time.

Sometimes it's better in life to go unnoticed and under the radar. When the bird attracts the attention of a hungry fox, he realizes his mistake. He sheds his borrowed finery and becomes special once again. He makes friends who accept him as he is.

Illustrations by the author use whitespace (negative space) to show the bird. Color illustrations around the bird show his presence.This children's book is innovative and interesting. "Something truly new..." raves Bologna Children's Book Fair Honor Award (from the cover).

Highly recommended age 4-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)