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Overview
Noor Nobi is a broken man, wandering the streets of Calcutta with no reason to live. His three children, snatched from him in a cruel accident, were everything he worked for and loved. But one day, he enters a crowded market and sees a bird, caged and frightened and sick. With very little money in his pocket, he waits until the vendor is closing up.Quickly, Noor Nobi bargains and, happy to get anything for the sickly thing, the vendor accepts his offer. For some reason Noor Nobi cannot explain, it is important for him to nurse the bird back to health. When it is finally able to fly, Noor Nobi takes his bird to a big Banyan tree and releases it. Only then is he able to weep and fully grieve for his children.
Before Noor Nobi knows it, he is back at work and taking his weekly earnings to the market where he continues to buy, heal, and free as many birds as he can. Crowds gather; some laugh and say he is crazy, some stand reverently, some don’t know what to think. But Noor Nobi’s kindness saves a growing number of birds, and the birds, in turn, give him new purpose.
Author Veronika Martenova Charles read a short newspaper article about the “Birdman” of Calcutta and her imagination took flight. She traveled to India, found Noor Nobi, and witnessed the freeing of the birds for herself.
The Birdman is a touching, true story, tenderly illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. It is accompanied by an afterword, diary entries, and photographs of the author’s experience.
The Birdman is based on a real man in Calcutta who heals and frees sick birds. Author Veronika Martenova Charles read a short newspaper article about the Birdman of Calcutta and her imagination took flight. She traveled to India, found Noor Nobi, and witnessed the freeing of the birds for herself. The Birdman is a touching, true story illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stephan Daigle.
Synopsis
Noor Nobi is a broken man, wandering the streets of Calcutta with no reason to live. His three children, snatched from him in a cruel accident, were everything he worked for and loved. But one day, he enters a crowded market and sees a bird, caged and frightened and sick. With very little money in his pocket, he waits until the vendor is closing up.
Quickly, Noor Nobi bargains and, happy to get anything for the sickly thing, the vendor accepts his offer. For some reason Noor Nobi cannot explain, it is important for him to nurse the bird back to health. When it is finally able to fly, Noor Nobi takes his bird to a big Banyan tree and releases it. Only then is he able to weep and fully grieve for his children.
Before Noor Nobi knows it, he is back at work and taking his weekly earnings to the market where he continues to buy, heal, and free as many birds as he can. Crowds gather; some laugh and say he is crazy, some stand reverently, some don’t know what to think. But Noor Nobi’s kindness saves a growing number of birds, and the birds, in turn, give him new purpose.
Author Veronika Martenova Charles read a short newspaper article about the “Birdman” of Calcutta and her imagination took flight. She traveled to India, found Noor Nobi, and witnessed the freeing of the birds for herself.
The Birdman is a touching, true story, tenderly illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. It is accompanied by an afterword, diary entries, and photographs of the author’s experience.
Children's Literature
Noor Nobi, a hardworking tailor in bustling Calcutta, is devastated when an accident kills his beloved children. He has always spared crumbs for the birds, but for weeks after the tragedy he finds himself unable to do or care about anything, even to cry. He notices nothing until he sees cages of trapped birds for sale in the market. He can afford to buy only one, but when he sets the birds free, his empty heart "filled out a bit." Determined to buy and free more, he goes back to work. He buys the leftover sickly birds, nurses them back to health, and watches them soar away. Finally he is able to cry as the monsoon rains arrive to water the parched earth. Now Noor Nobi, who buys and releases birds every Monday in Calcutta, is known as the Birdman. The decorative birds and the gentle hero pictured on the jacket have a mystical aura throughout the visual story. Gouache scenes exude the exotic warmth of Calcutta, scenes dominated by the birds whose fanciful feather patterns attract and hold attention. The stylized humans in their local dress add to the respectful emotional content of this almost mythical true story. A final note fills in the factual background.