The Amazing Life of Birds

Starred review from May 15, 2006
Paulsen's perceptive, funny look at the life of 12-year-old Duane is at once indisputably real and drolly exaggerated. The author gets the beleaguered boy's voice just right as Duane bares all in his journal, admitting, "Lately I've been thinking a lot about the female body. Not in a weird or sick way but not in an artistic or medical way either." When these images pop into his mind, he forces himself to instead envision "elbows
," a tactic that "helps. Sometimes." As he identifies with a baby bird going through its life changes in a nest outside his window, Duane bemoans his zits ("my face looks like I tried to kiss a rotary mower"), cracking voice ("It sounded like somebody hit a bullfrog with a big hammer right in the middle of a croak") and persistent cowlick (which he likens to "that bushy little tail you see on the back of a warthog in National Geographic
"). At school, calamities abound: "a river of stupid" pours from his mouth when a new girl says hello to him (he later smacks her in the head with a volleyball in gym) and after creating a bald spot on his head while trying to cut his cowlick, he is suspected of having—and spreading—ringworm. Though readers aren't likely to encounter all of the humiliations Duane endures, they will identify strongly with his insecurities. After he clumsily causes bookcases and a fish tank to topple in the library, the boy sardonically says, "You gotta love my life." For all the reasons Duane doesn't, readers will. Ages 10-up.

October 1, 2006
Gr 5-7-Twelve-year-old Duane confides to readers, I should have seen it coming, but no one ever does. Its called puberty. With laugh-out-loud lines and self-effacing humor, Duane describes 20 days during which he has disturbing dreams, sees ELBOWS everywhere (a euphemism for part of a womans body), gets giant zits (recognized even by his parents), and notices his voice is changing (along with other body parts). He constantly falls over his own feet at school, babbles at girls, and manages to embarrass himselfseveral timesin front of the entire student body. But Duane has a good friend and a grandmother in whom he can confide. Ultimately, he recognizes that hes normal and understands that this awkward, awful, alarming time will eventually end. Short chapters and clipped language keep the pace fast and create empathy for Duanes plight. Just like the fledgling bird that he observes from his bedroom window, depicted in a comical black-and-white drawing at the start of each section, Duanes confidence and self-acceptance develop and he realizes that he will not only survive puberty, but also grow and become adept at many new things."Maria B. Salvadore, formerly at Washington DC Public Library"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
Gr. 6-9. Middle-school student Duane Leech recounts his life clumsily tripping and blundering from one disaster to another. He's distracted by constant thoughts about the female anatomy, exacerbated by frequent, bizarre, and confusing dreams. At home he watches a young bird's similarly clumsy attempts to grow up in a nest outside his window. Paulsen keeps the tone light and amusing throughout this short novel, as Duane cheerfully recounts each disaster that befalls him. Despite the first-person narration, young readers may sense the novel's voice belongs more to a bemused adult looking back from afar, and while this doesn't completely capture the tsunami force of puberty's hormonal tides or full picture of puberty, many young people will find the story a quick and enjoyable take on school and family.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)