Welcome to another Write a Review Wednesday, a meme started by Tara Lazar as a way to show support to authors of kids literature. Last week we reviewed a new program launched by Sterling Publishing called Listen-Along Storybooks. I’m still running a giveaway on eight of the Listen-Along books. This week we’re looking at Jeremy Tankard‘s Boo Hoo Bird (3-5 ) from Scholastic Press. I have to thank Nikole at Scholastic Canada for my review copy.
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Bird is playing ball with Raccoon. Everything is fine, until Bird gets bonked on the head and starts to cry. Raccoon tries unsuccessfully to make Bird feel better. When that doesn’t work Rabbit, Beaver, Sheep and Fox all make attempts to stop Bird from crying. But nothing seems to work, which makes all of Bird’s friends upset. Seeing his friends upset makes Bird realizes that he actually doesn’t feel so bad.
My kids love Bird. Jeremy Tankard‘s Grumpy Bird was actually one of my first Write a Review Wednesday posts. And all the reasons we like bird in Grumpy Bird, still hold true in Boo Hoo Bird. The wonderful mix of illustration and photography, the bright colours and simple animal drawings, the repetitive text, even the fact that the animals are all referred to by their type (fox is fox, sheep is sheep, and so on); all these things make Boo Hoo Bird a delightful story to read.
I think kids and parents will be able to relate to Bird’s incident; his being hurt and none of the standard ‘make it feel better’ tactics seem to work (a hug, a kiss, a cookie). I think we’ve all been there or witnessed it with our own kids. I love the innocent and pure friendship that Bird’s friends have. When all their efforts fail to make Bird feel better, they are so distraught. It’s only then that Bird realizes his pain isn’t so bad, certainly not bad enough to upset his friends. Boo Hoo Bird is a beautiful story about friendship.
My kids enjoyed the repetitive text. They could anticipate what would come next. They loved to talk about what things in the story (or outside of the story) would make them feel better.
You can add Boo Hoo Bird to your home library by visiting your local bookstore or from Amazon.ca. If you’re looking for other great books for kids, check out the past Write a Review Wednesday posts.
Trying to balance life at home with my 3 kids (all under 7), while building my business and developing my writing. Oh and throw a load of laundry in and a dinner that isn't burnt. Wasn't working from home suppose to be easier?
Another day, another thought...or two. 