The Bird

"The Bird" is a quirky story with both humorous and poignant illustrations that takes simple, vivid narrative and a light style to relate a hermit's trials with bird-company, and the alternative: loneliness. This tale combines a charming surface myth connected to the story of Noah and the ark with an underlying proverb for today about accepting what comes along with life and the living. Kids will love the colorful illustrations and the "splats" (excretions) and perhaps think about how they feel and act about living with siblings. Adults will appreciate the overtones of the difficulties all humans have co-existing.(The book reminds me a little of both St. Exupery's "The Little Prince" and "The Big Orange Splot" by Daniel Manus Pinkwater.) From time to time, we can all relearn the book's cute lesson that if we want the joys brought by any friend or relative, we must accept a little dirt and/or disorder of some kind. I gave the book to my neat-freak sister and her one-year-old son to read together. It's a good thing, too, because they are moving in with me in December...