"What are you doing, Blue Bird?
That house is not for you.
Oh no, this is THE house
for me. Orange is my color!
So bold! So bright! Full of
light! Like me!
But you're blue.
Only on the outside."
It seems there is no right way to draw a house for a bird, if you don't ask what they like. Our young artist discovers that fairly quickly when she designs the houses to match the birds in color and size. Therefore, she paints a red house for a red bird, a tall house for a tall bird, and so on.
She is very proud of her work. Concern takes over when the blue bird likes the orange house. Orange is its favorite color, with its brightness and light. The orange bird likes the cool of blue ... it is chill, and that's what attracts her to it. Poor artist! She does her best to convince each bird to go back to the house she created just for them. Almost every bird has a different take on their new digs.
"Um, hi. I get worried in big
spaces. I feel much better in
this small house, where I can
touch all the walls at once.
Please don't yell at me."
So, the big bird moves into the small house and the small bird moves into the big house in order to accommodate a flock of cousins who love to sing together. Fair or not, that's the way they like it. They might have told her if she had asked them what type of house they liked. It's pretty simple, really. In the end, she makes another new discovery about her avian friends.
Digital multi-media illustrations are expressive, and in keeping with a child's artistic style. The details are full of appeal, and offer a chance for young readers to take note of the humor and the personalities of the birds depicted. It is also important to see that, while there is some frustration on the artist's part for the birds' apparent refusal to accept what the artist has provided, there is also empathy for their feelings once they are shared.
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