Ivy Bird
Author: Tania McCartney
Illustrator: Jess Racklyeft
Blue Dot Kids Press
Ages: 3 to 6 years old
With her “lovely voice”, she tweets, cheeps, warbles, cackles, and squawks her way through her day; inviting her bird friends to join in her adventures.
Imagination is an integral part of childhood; and yet, so often it is a lost art. Kids have become so dependent on electronic devices and technology, that the thought of using their imagination rarely even comes to mind as a possibility during play. Fortunately and perhaps as a response, McCartney gives us Ivy Bird, a beautiful portrayal of where your imagination can take you, if you allow it to take flight.
Creative and energetic Ivy wakes up and immediately takes off on a day filled with all kinds of adventures that are the product of her incredible imagination. She is a bird! She flies, explores, and discovers endless wonders. With her “lovely voice”, she tweets, cheeps, warbles, cackles, and squawks her way through her day; inviting her bird friends to join in her adventures.
Throughout the beautifully illustrated book, Racklyeft uses a rainbow of colors to show Ivy interacting with her bird friends–almost becoming the different birds she spends time with. The illustrations are whimsical and engaging, using soft lines and colors, alongside simple shapes, to create a visually engaging and pleasing effect.
The story provides a perfect opportunity to share how imagination allows you to experience the world around you and create your very own special, fantastic adventures. Parents will enjoy going back to this story to look for things they may have missed on a first read. Children will surely enjoy the return visits as well. This is one of those stories that kids may ask to read again and again.
McCartney adds substance to the reading by providing information about the birds found in the story, at the end of the book. An interesting feature then becomes “finding details” as readers are encouraged to find the different birds in the pages of the book, naturally begging for the repeated readings mentioned previously.
For classroom use, the book provides an excellent opportunity to teach about finding key details; as so many details are given in both the written and illustrated parts of the story. Identifying key details is important when developing reading comprehension skills, one of the hardest areas of the reading process to teach.
For use in language development instruction focusing on grammar, the writing provides teachers with a great selection of words– verbs (foraging, feather-fluffing, splashes), adjectives (early, sweet, delicious), and nouns (nectar, pond, clouds). Finally, the birds included in the story are a great introduction to animal facts presented with eye catching illustrations that are sure to peak the interests of students. It’s important to remember that reading instruction is an ongoing process that can only be accomplished if there is a combined effort between school and home.
Written for children ages 3-6, this is a story that can easily be adapted for use with older students given the vocabulary used and the topic of the story.
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More books for this Age Group can be found here.
Please, leave comments! I love a HEALTHY exchange of ideas. After all, critical thinking is essential to life.
My thanks to Edelweiss+ and the Publisher for providing an Advance Copy of this book. The views expressed herein are my own.
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