Not Your Nest!

January 1, 2019
A tiny yellow bird has just finished building a nest, but other animals in the savanna think it looks like a good place to rest, too.The design has been planned. The twigs gathered. One last leaf and the nest will be complete. But as the yellow bird flies happily toward the tree, a larger bird is already there. "You can build another," says the bully of a bird. "I guess I could..." says the tiny, crestfallen bird. So plans are made again. Twigs are gathered. One last leaf--and suddenly there's a fennec in the nest! Each attempt to build a cozy home brings a more absurd animal to the tree. A warthog, a gorilla, an elephant, and more balance precariously as they settle in, each with their own sound reason as to why the dwelling suits them. Frustrated and exhausted, the yellow bird finally finds some powerful help to knock everyone out of the tree. But maybe there is a way to share after all. Tsurumi's expressive animals (sometimes uppity, sometimes sheepish--all forming a dejected, collective slump when they realize how they've treated their friend) definitely rule the roost. Laid out in mostly double-page spreads and with wry text set entirely in speech balloons, the visual storytelling easily engages readers, perhaps most impressively as the little bird scowls with determination, perched on a wildebeest's horns as it charges directly at readers.Giggle-inducing buffoonery; but thankfully, bigger rivals don't get the last laugh. (Picture book. 3-7)

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March 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 1-A small yellow bird is proud of the beautiful nest she has designed and built all by herself in an acacia tree on the African plain. When she gathers one last element to complete her resting place, she is surprised to find that a large bird has taken up residence. The big bird won't budge, so the small one goes off to design and build another nest only to discover this one usurped by a fox. Every time the little bird builds a nest, another animal claims it. Soon a gorilla, a giraffe, an elephant, a zebra, and others decide they want to live in a nest high in the treetop. As day turns to night, the exhausted bird has had enough. The creatures come to a compromise in a conclusion that will satisfy a young audience. The first page serves as foreshadowing as all the former ground dwellers are carefully watching the original nest being built. Large, clear illustrations add even more humor to this poor bird's preposterous predicament. VERDICT An enormously amusing read-aloud choice.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2019
Grades K-2 Resembling Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back (2011) in tone but with a kinder, gentler outcome, this episode follows a small yellow bird who carefully designs and builds a succession of nests?only to find each one occupied by a jackal, a warthog, a snotty giraffe ( It's yours? I don't see your name on it. Go away ), or some other, much larger resident. An arrogant zebra being the last straw (so to speak), the irritated bird at last recruits a wildebeest to ram the tree so that nests and squatters alike end up on the ground. Evidently remorseful, the animals then build a replacement nest so huge that, when invited to stay? This is OUR nest ?they all actually fit, giving the avian architect a chance to sneak off and construct one last, cozily bird-sized home. Climaxed by a humongous BAM! that dominates two pages, the cartoon illustrations feature comically caricatured African animals, from a toothy crocodile ( We can share! ) to an entire meerkat colony. This is getting ridiculous, the bird mutters. Young readers will gleefully agree.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)