Stork's Landing

July 28, 2014
In spring, migrating storks always stop at young Maya’s kibbutz on their way back to their European homes. When one stork breaks its wing on some netting in a kibbutz fish pond, Maya becomes the bird’s advocate; with help from her father, the stork becomes a surrogate mother to a nestful of needy stork chicks. Lehman-Wilzig (Zvuvi’s Israel) immerses readers in rhythms of kibbutz life from the very first page, and she never makes a big deal of Maya’s confidence and competence: when the girl pulls out her walkie-talkie and sends out the alert, “S-O-S. Stork in net,” it’s the most natural thing in the world. U.K.-based illustrator Shuttlewood works in watercolors, an ideal medium for a story that takes place entirely outdoors. She renders her human characters in a somewhat simple style, as if reserving the detailing for the birds at the center of the story. And handsome they are, with a magnificent, snowy wingspans tipped in black, and bright red legs and beaks. It’s easy to why Maya devotes her considerable intelligence and energies to them. Ages 3–8. Illustrator’s agent: Advocate Art.

July 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-While migrating from Africa to Europe, a white stork becomes tangled in a net protecting a kibbutz fish pond. Young Maya persuades her father to rescue the injured bird. She calls the stork Yaffa, and because her wing cannot be repaired, the farmers build her a nest in a huge tire on the ground. Yaffa cannot fly to join a male stork that builds a nest in a nearby tree. The following spring, another female joins him while Yaffa watches from below. Soon three chicks hatch. When their mother does not return from foraging, Abba and Maya devise a plan to help Yaffa reach the chicks and save the family. The soft edges and muted colors of Shuttlewood's watercolor illustrations perfectly complement this low-key, pleasant, but improbable tale of animal rescue.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

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June 15, 2014
A wild stork receives some loving care when it becomes caught in netting on Maya's kibbutz during the annual migration from Africa to Israel.Maya's abba is a fish farmer and each year protects his stock from hungry, swooping storks by placing netting across the ponds. But when one stork's feet become entangled, she breaks her wing in her struggle to free herself. Maya rescues and cares for the injured stork, naming her Yaffa, "pretty" in Hebrew. As Yaffa heals, a pair of storks make their nest in a tree on the kibbutz, producing three little chicks. When the mother leaves, never to return, the male stork, named Tzadok ("righteous") by Maya, remains but needs a partner to scavenge for and feed the chicks. Yaffa is gently introduced and placed in the nest to help the young family until the chicks are ready to fly. Watercolors in muted natural hues on textured paper add a sense of serenity to the tale. It is unusual in its depiction of an Israeli kibbutz, though it does little to portray the distinctiveness of kibbutz life, beyond references to the other farmers; the focus on Maya's altruistic act obscures the authentic portrayal of the collective business of farming fish.A well-meaning but ultimately unsuccessful blend of eco-awareness and aquaculture. (Picture book. 5-8)

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