PreS-K—Like the feathered hero in P.D. Eastman's classic Are You My Mother? (Random, 1960), Purple Little Bird sets out on a quest to find where he belongs. He lives in a little purple house. He loves the color, but something is "not quite right." He wants to find the perfect place to live. On his journey, he encounters a variety of colorful creatures, and the animals all tell Purple Little Bird what is appealing about their home, but none of them is quite right for him. Brown Bear's den is too dark; Gray Goat's cliff is too windy; Blue Frog's pond is too damp. At last, three Pink Possums lead the bird to the perfect place for him, his own little purple house. With the help of his new friends, he transforms his home by painting it the colors of a rainbow. The illustrations feature bold black lines and splashes of two or three colors in each picture. On the last page, all of the animals are shown in their individual habitats on the edge of a circle of green. The childlike simplicity of the art matches the story's wholesome message about appreciating the security and comforts of home. Shutta Crum's A Family for Old Mill Farm (Clarion, 2007) and Anika Denise's Bella and Stella Come Home (Philomel, 2010) treat the same theme in more detail.—Linda L. Walkins, Mount Saint Joseph Academy, Brighton, MA
Although Purple Little Bird has a perfectly purple house and garden, he feels something is "not quite right." After traveling to Brown Bear's cave, Gray Goat's steep cliff, and other locales searching for the "perfect place," he realizes his own home is "much too purple." This rather pale story is buoyed by Foley's strong, color-saturated illustrations.
Be the first reader to comment.
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!