Moving House? Of course you want to take all your favourite things with you! But what if you are a bird flying south for the winter?
The Story: Little Bird loves his home and all his favourite things but when the weather gets colder his brother tells him that they have to fly south. Little Bird takes his things with him but throughout the flight he has to get rid of them. When he finally arrives all his favourite things have gone but then Little Bird sees the positive side to his situation…
Children (and many adults) will identify with Little Bird’s need to be surrounded by his favourite things and his inability to leave them behind when he moves. However, Little Bird’s lost items bring joy to others, including a shepherd and a porcupine, and once he gets to his new home he discovers new favourite things. We love the final double spread in which Little Bird’s nest is full again, it’s a lovely contrast to the empty nest that he arrives with. Jo Empson has created a really endearing character, we feel Little Bird’s sense of indecision when he has to leave his home, his sense of loss when his favourite things have gone and we share his joy when his nest is no longer empty.
The length of Little Bird’s journey is shown through a succession of very different landscapes and Jo Empson’s double page spreads are beautiful. They include a snowstorm, a thunderstorm and my favourite, this gorgeous sunset showing the silhouettes of Little Bird and his friends.
Little Home Bird would be a lovely book to include in a classroom topic on birds, particularly if you are talking about migration. The range of landscapes that Jo Empson has included and the different weather conditions can contribute to discussions about how far birds must fly and why. It’s also a great story to stimulate discussion about moving house or the loss of favourite items.
Age Range: 4 to 7
Author / Illustrator: Jo Empson
Little Home Bird (Child's Play Library)
by Jo Empson [Child's Play International]
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$11.19
Thank you to Child’s Play for sending us a copy of Little Home Bird. It’s a beautifully illustrated account of the journey that many birds make to escape a cold winter but also parallels and acknowledges the emotions that children can also feel when they have more than one home.
This looks beautifully illustrated!! Sounds like a very sweet story. Thanks for sharing with #readwithme
The illustrations are gorgeous, especially that sunset 🙂
That is a beautiful sunset. I like the sound of reading a book to find out more about birds.
I love it when facts are woven into a story in a subtle but enjoyable way 🙂
Sounds like a lovely book with a real topic of interest to share #TriedTested
It is a lovely story to introduce the concept of migration 🙂
Aww! What a sweet book. It looks beautiful too x
It is beautiful, we love Jo Empson’s illustrations 🙂
What a lovely colourful book, the illustrations look great!
The illustrations are gorgeous. I wish that I could draw and paint like Jo 🙂
I loved Rabbityness by Jo Empson so need to get my hands on this! #readwithme
Rabbityness is a fantastic story, this one is great too 🙂
I love Rabbityness – we were bought that for my younger children when their sister died and it really is a great book. This one looks lovely – the double page illustrations are beautifully done. She writes incredibly emotive and sensitive books.
Rabbityness is a fantastic book for helping children to deal with and understand grief. Jo Empson’s books are great, not only are they beautifully illustrated but they also help children deal with and understand situations that they may find difficult.