Yeti and the Bird

February 9, 2015
Yeti looks ferocious, with his magnificently shaggy white fur and pinprick eyes, âso everyone left him alone.â The local foxes and raccoons never suspect that âYeti was lonely.â The solitary sasquatch sits on a log and directs his ghostly gaze into a subalpine pool. He stops brooding when a rotund red bird, who has misread her migration map, crash-lands on his head and guffaws a silly âSqwalka-sqwalkaâ at his angry roar. Before long, the two are playing on a makeshift seesawâYeti calling out a happy âGraaah!ââand singing âsweet, sad songs together, which soothed the forest to sleep.â Shireen (Hey, Presto) sets a foreboding scene with silhouettes of midnight blue and evergreen against permafrost hues of lichen. Yetiâs coat suggests the coming winter, and the red-orange bird is the brightest presence on the pages. By the time the bird continues south, however, friendship melts the icy tension. Yetiâs fellow animals, who witnessed his kindness, feel emboldened to approach him. Although Shireen tells a customary tale of an odd couple, her appealing Yeti is well worth getting to know. Ages 4â8.

November 15, 2014
A picture book about an unexpected friendship.Big, hairy, scary Yeti lives deep in the forest, and the other animals are afraid of him, so they leave him alone. But Yeti, for all his bulk and bluster, is lonely. When a small red bird, lost, lands on him by mistake, he roars, but she is unafraid. The two strike up an unlikely friendship, playing games during the day and singing "sweet, sad songs together" each evening that "[soothe] the forest to sleep." However, the season is changing to winter, and Yeti's cold forest is no place for the bright bird. Sadly, they part, and Yeti, having known friendship, feels more alone than ever. That is, until the other forest animals, having seen Yeti's soft side, make friendly overtures, and Yeti finds a life filled with companions-including the red bird, who drops by when she can. A tale about an unlikely friendship that changes a lonely life is not a new theme, but Shireen writes with admirable restraint and fills in the narrative gaps with engaging illustrations. Her double-page spreads create potent atmosphere with carefully placed strong shapes and forthright color. Spot illustrations effectively convey easy-to-understand action and humor. Striking visuals that combine compelling use of shape, page design and color successfully carry this version of an oft-told story. (Picture book. 3-7)

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November 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-A huge white yeti is lonely but not alone: the other forest animals are afraid of him and hide. His ghostlike image in a night-time stream achingly reflects his sorrow. Then a small orange bird who has lost her way crashes into him. He roars ("'RAAARGH!'"), but she is not scared. Realizing this is not the tropical island she had hoped to find, she begins to cry. Yeti takes her home and cares for her, and the next morning-to the astonishment of the other animals-they play. At night they sing "sweet, sad songs together," like lullabies. As the weather becomes colder, Yeti studies maps, packs worm jam sandwiches, and watches his friend fly away. But Yeti will not remain lonely. In a marvelous spread, the other animals come out to play. Winter becomes spring, and Yeti has many new friends-and an old friend who "pops by to say hello." Yeti is an exceptionally appealing character with his small head, tiny eyes, and great hairy body. In the first of many wonderful spreads, he is depicted as mountainlike. Just as the orange bird brightens Yeti's world, these two will warm the hearts of young readers. Told with exceptional economy and striking art, this tale of an unusual friendship is a great choice for all libraries.-Mary Jean Smith, formerly at Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN

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