Meet Bert,
a scruffy little ragamuffin bowerbird who somehow manages to elicit pure,
unbridled joy from our hearts – even through the heartbreak of his search for
love.
Brought to us by the award-and-heart-winning team of Julia Donaldson and
Catherine Rayner, this book is indeed irresistible.
Bert has built himself the perfect home in the form of a bower. He places a
purple flower lovingly outside his front door and waits. Soon, a female bird
called Nanette passes by.
‘Dear
Nanette,’ the bowerbird said,
‘You’re
just the bird I’d love to wed.
Do you like
my purple flower?
Will you come inside my bower?’
Nanette is
no pushover and the story pulls no punches! But is Nanette the right
bird for Bert?
The divine
illustrations show us Bert’s sweetness and strength, which shine through the hope
and disappointment of each encounter with Nanette. When he is finally tricked
out of his bower, our Bert finds himself truly alone.
And then, a
little bit of wonderful magic happens…
The
seamless and endearing rhyme of this book somehow serves to make us love Bert
all the more. And the inclusion of items such as an old caramel wrapper and
rusty zip in his cache of treasures, gives us wonderful and satisfying words to
wrap our mouths around as we read aloud.
The
illustrations are stunning – emotive, funny and completely endearing. I don’t
know quite how a bowerbird is made to look variously like a stooped old man, a
playful puppy and a loved-up bowerbird, but somehow, this one is! Bert is
earnest, interesting, scruffy and totally dependable. I want to pick him up and
hear him sing and watch him build a hundred bowers.
Such a beautiful and timeless story, with so many layers of meaning,
wholesomeness and hope.
Sheer
delight.
Title: The Bowerbird – The Small Bird With The Large Heart
Author: Julia Donaldson
Illustrator: Catherine Rayner
Publisher: MacMillan $26.99
Publication Date: March 2023
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781529092240
For ages: 3 – 5
Type: Picture Book
