Publishers Weekly
Unlike the well-defined characters in classic children's books about friendship such as Frog and Toad, George and Martha, or even the more recent Dog and Bear, the two friends in these three stories seem like male and female clones of a single character, except for Birdie's yellow plumage, pink hair bow, and exaggerated eyelashes. The book unfolds entirely through repetitious dialogue between the birds that appears in speech bubbles: “ 'Hello.' 'Oh, hello!' 'How are you?' 'I'm fine! How are you?' 'I'm GREAT! Isn't it a beautiful morning?' 'Yes, it IS a beautiful morning!' ” The plot is largely moved forward in nearly wordless scenes with sound effects (like the “crack!” of lightning) or words added to indicate emotion (the birds “sniff” sadly when they're apart). The stories are upbeat and simple, as the birds find each other after being separated in a storm, have some misadventures while hunting worms, and share the lettuce-like leaves of their nests. The dialogue is appropriate for beginners, but the bland stories and characters offer little to grab readers' attention or imagination. Ages 3-5. (Apr.)
Publishers Weekly
Unlike the well-defined characters in classic children's books about friendship such as Frog and Toad, George and Martha, or even the more recent Dog and Bear, the two friends in these three stories seem like male and female clones of a single character, except for Birdie's yellow plumage, pink hair bow, and exaggerated eyelashes. The book unfolds entirely through repetitious dialogue between the birds that appears in speech bubbles: “ 'Hello.' 'Oh, hello!' 'How are you?' 'I'm fine! How are you?' 'I'm GREAT! Isn't it a beautiful morning?' 'Yes, it IS a beautiful morning!' ” The plot is largely moved forward in nearly wordless scenes with sound effects (like the “crack!” of lightning) or words added to indicate emotion (the birds “sniff” sadly when they're apart). The stories are upbeat and simple, as the birds find each other after being separated in a storm, have some misadventures while hunting worms, and share the lettuce-like leaves of their nests. The dialogue is appropriate for beginners, but the bland stories and characters offer little to grab readers' attention or imagination. Ages 3–5. (Apr.)
Children's Literature
- Miriam Chernick
Three separate stories using speech bubbles and cartoon-strip format tell of friendship over the course of a day between Bird, a boy who is blue, and Birdie, a girl who is yellow with long eyelashes and a pink bow. The morning story is about the two birds weathering a storm, an afternoon story covers the trials of worm catching, and the final story is about building a comfortable nest for the night. In each case, the birds fare better and are happier when they are together, sharing, than alone. Early readers will enjoy these light-hearted chapter-like stories, while younger ones will appreciate the bright colors and spacious feel of the book. Varying spreads of two, three, or four panels help give the book a legitimate comic-book feel. Comparable to Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel or Elephant and Piggie by Mo Willems, Bird and Birdie's stories are still sufficiently original to find their own appeal among young readers. Reviewer: Miriam Chernick
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1—Three episodes tell of a day with two fine feathered friends. In the first entry, a "boy meets girl" tale, readers observe the two birds enjoying one another's company. In the second and third vignettes, they share worms and the materials for making nests together. With a few deft lines of computer-generated art in warm pastels, Long has created two expressive characters who inhabit comic-strip (speech bubbles and all) spreads of one, two, and four panels per page. Bird is bright blue and, as with most female cartoon characters, canary-yellow Birdie has long eyelashes and a bow in her hair to connote her gender. The repetitive language and simple story structure make this read like a beginning reader, but the small font and the vocabulary, with words such as "marvelous" and "stupendous," do not bear this out. While this duo is not as iconic as James Marshall's "George and Martha" (Houghton) or half as funny as Mo Willems's "Elephant and Piggie" series (Hyperion), Long has created an easily digestible introduction to the comic-strip format for the younger set.—Rachel G. Payne, Brooklyn Public Library, NY
Kirkus Reviews
Over the course of three short chapters, blue Bird and yellow Birdie spend "a beautiful morning," "a wonderful afternoon" and "a marvelous night" getting to know each other. Brightly colored, cartoon-style Photoshop art, coupled with environmental text and speech balloons, deliver a picture book with clear ties to comic art and animation. The bird friends delight in one another's company in each story-even though a rainstorm, Birdie's distracting chattiness while Bird is trying to catch a worm and a less-than-cozy nest disrupt their burgeoning connection. Each chapter's central problem reaches a satisfying resolution, and though the first story hints that they may emerge as lovebirds, Bird and Birdie chastely end up falling asleep in separate nests by book's end. The controlled, repetitive text positions this picture book as a potentially successful book for beginning readers, though it would also serve well as a read-aloud. (Picture book/early reader. 3-7)
