Little Bird loves everything about his home. He's surrounded by his favourite branch, his favourite food, his favourite view and his favourite music.
Why on earth would he ever want to change, even when his brother tells him that they must?
This is Book 115 in the Child's Play library Series. See all Child's Play library books here.
Super beautiful book by Jo Empson (we love love her book Rabbityness). She gets it so right. Here it's about leaving special things behind and having more than one home; it could be about birds and nature, travel, or your family or classmates with more than one home. Bringing everyone together, no one singled out, everyday life. Little Bird has to leave his home, and he really loves his home and his possessions, so he decides to take them with him... and there comes the adventure. Gorgeous vibrant pictures, tender topics, dealt with to show all kinds of things that happen in life, remarkable and unremarkable at the same time, with a positive, creative style that offers itself to questions and discussion, or just a really lovely story to read together.
"Little Home Bird" follows Little Bird as he migrates South for the winter. It is illustrated beautifully with bright colours but real emotion too. The pictures carry a sense of the bird's feelings as he has misgivings about leaving home. He decides that he needs to take all of his favourite things with him and joins the flock with a heavy nest laden with all of his home comforts. Along the way it becomes too heavy and everything but the nest is abandoned or lost (to the benefit of others along the journey). However Little Bird soon realises that there are lots of wonderful new things in his new home. This would be a fantastic book to share with young children if they are facing change of any sort as it shows that whilst things can be scary the unknown can also be fun. Lucas really enjoyed this book and, because it uses simple language, he was able to read and understand it independently.
Beautiful artwork, with friendly-looking animals, accompanies the economical text. There is gentle humour to be enjoyed (as evidenced by the smiles I saw on Alfie's face as I read to him about the berries dropping onto the porcupine's quills), as well as understanding to be gained about the natural world and how some animals migrate to warmer climes. And, looking a little deeper, you can explore ideas, such as the courage we, as humans, need when facing the unknown.
Jo Empson graduated from Cambridge School of Art with a Masters in Children's Book Illustration. Jo is never happier than when she is swept away in storytelling, whether writing, illustrating or just reading a favourite picture book (which she still does every night!).