Tiny Bird

February 15, 2020
A ruby-throated hummingbird flies 1,500 miles, from the northeastern United States across the Gulf of Mexico. Naming his exemplar protagonist Tiny Bird, Burleigh chronicles its pre-migration feeding, its travels southward to the Florida shore, its perilous journey across the Caribbean (a convenient fishing boat provides a resting spot), and its arrival in its tropical winter home. The simple narrative is set in short, poetic lines. There's suspense: "Over the first pounding waves, / it begins its nonstop flight of more than twenty hours. / Can Tiny Bird make it? Many hummingbirds never do." The traveler just misses being eaten, first by a hawk and then by a large fish, and weathers a storm. And there's expressive language, with alliteration, occasional rhyme, and plentiful imagery. After the successful trip, "Tiny Bird rests and feeds, / flickering from flower to flower / like an emerald spark flashing in the bright sun." While the writer ascribes no gender to his character, Minor's colorful paintings show a male. In images that feature huge flowers or the vastness of the ocean, the bird is appropriately small, but he's magnified, reflecting his enormous courage, as he flies through the storm. Information about hummingbird size, flight, and feeding habits is sprinkled throughout the narrative and further developed in a final page of "fun facts"; there's a map and additional facts on the endpapers. A fine addition to "sense of wonder" collections. (tips to help hummingbirds, resources) (Informational picture book. 3-7)

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April 1, 2020

K-Gr 2-Each ruby-throated hummingbird migrates alone from North America to Mexico for the winter, a journey of over 1,500 miles. The narrative begins by describing the unique flying abilities of the hummingbird that allow it to hover and dart up, backward and forward as it extracts nectar from the last blossoms of summer. Soon the urge to migrate compels the tiny bird to fly south. The hummingbird, sometimes reaching speeds of 30-miles-per-hour, arrives at the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. During its solo 500-mile nonstop flight across the water, the bird is confronted by crashing waves, leaping fish, and thunderstorms amply illustrated in dark spreads. Many hummingbirds do not survive this ordeal. A one-page "Fun Facts" section amplifies information presented in the narrative. Another section describes how people can make their yards into a hummingbird "dining spot." The endpapers include a map of the hummingbird's migration journey and other facts. VERDICT The narrative and illustrations, though informative, do not quite capture the magical wonder of hummingbirds. Useful as an additional title in large public or school libraries.-Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2020
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* Burleigh and Minor combine their talents to dramatic effect in this lightly fictionalized account of a ruby-throated hummingbird's fall migration south to Central America. The opening and closing spreads depict the titular Tiny Bird in actual size (4.5 inches from wing tip to wing tip); a slightly enlarged view of its nest and eggs, paired with objects for examples relative size; and a map of its 1,500-mile migration route. Today is the day, the story begins, that Tiny Bird embarks on its flight from the northeastern U.S. to its wintering grounds in Mexico. Its rapid wing movements are described in onomatopoeia (Whir! Zip! Zap!), and Minor's gouache watercolors mirror the hummingbird's energetic movements, showing it flitting to different areas on the page or narrowly evading predators. Double-page spreads of expansive countryside and the seemingly endless waters of the Gulf of Mexico dwarf Tiny Bird, subsequently illustrating the magnitude of the journey for such a small creature. Burleigh seamlessly integrates facts about the ruby-throated hummingbird into his propulsive imagining of its migration; the snapping jaws of fish and an unexpected storm are but two of the obstacles facing the intrepid flier. Back matter offers a page of hummingbird facts and tips and resources for creating hummingbird-friendly spaces. Kids will be mesmerized by this dynamic portrait of one of nature's winged wonders.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)