Author: Michael Genhart
Illustrator: Tony Neal
Publisher: Magination Press
Ages: 3-8
What happens when a flamboyance of flamingos moves into the neighborhood? Well, if you’re a real estate developer, you know in your bones that property values will skyrocket as the pretty, pink and proud flamingos will surely improve the property and the surrounding area. (See what I did there?) But, this neighborhood of birds wasn’t quite so sure what to expect, and they didn’t react too positively. In fact . . .
the crows convened to caw
the pelicans patrolled
the vultures ventured . . . . .
You get the picture.
In this engaging book, filled with artful, amusing, alliteration, Genhart weaves a tale of inclusion and exclusion using different birds to bring out assumptions about a group that is new to the neighborhood. Each bird type, begging to be read in a different voice/accent (you and the kid will have more fun that way), finds a different reason to exclude, fear, mistrust the flamboyance.
Of course, adult readers who do not have their head in, well, the sand, immediately realize what is going on (and for those that don’t, illustrator Neal has fashioned one of the flamingoes with a screaming rainbow mohawk, along with other cheary easter eggs in his faaaabulous illustrations).
In the end, the neighborhood flock (the collective) does indeed realize that the flamboyance of flamingos make excellent neighbors, and nobody remembers what they were getting so worked up about. The book is a light, easy, fun, read, that everyone will enjoy. There are also some wonderful bird facts and some solid parental advice at the end.
Genhart, is a licensed clinical psychologist.
They’re So Flamboyant (Amazon)*
They’re So Flamboyant (Support an Independent Bookstore)*
My thanks to Magination Press for providing a Review Copy of this book. All opinions provided herein are my own.
More books for this Age Group can be found here and here.
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