A BIRD DAY by Eva Lindström — reviewed by Stella
A book about everything ordinary, but there are birds! A Bird Day is a complete delight. Close your eyes and imagine you are a bird child. What would your day be like? Where would you go for some afternoon fun? And, when dinner is dished up would you be rolling your eyes and saying, “Not, again!” Maybe if it’s flies! Lena and Bo are siblings. We meet them on the first pages playing in the ditch beside the road. They’re playing chicken. It’s very dangerous. Luckily they can fly away quickly. When it’s time to eat, their mother reminds them to wash their beaks — the flies are ready. Dad’s not too keen on this ordinary meal. “Flies, again,“ says Papa. “You cook then,” says Mama.” He’ll be cooking up a feast later as long as the afternoon gathering goes well. Pop back a page and you’ll see that Papa has been relaxing listening to bird music while Mama has been hard at work putting the food on the table. These subtle pecking orders and ordinary family relationships are nicely explored through the illustrations and these dovetail perfectly with the engaging text. So what do birds do for fun? Well, chicken, and then there’s fainting. Falling out of a tree is a great lark for a creature with excellent wings. We all like to be daredevils especially when we know we are safe. In the afternoon they hunt for mosquitos and worms. When they need a rest Lena and Bo sit down and pretend their legs are fatter, thinner, or not there at all. Like any good sibling, Lena scares her little brother; but only a little bit. Papa’s making dinner. Yum, mosquitos. Mama doesn’t like mosquitos, but there are plenty of worms. Another excellent addition to the work of Eva Lindstrom, author and illustrator of My Dog Mouse and Everyone Walks Away.
We now have the wonderful Gecko Press books listed under their own category on our website.