Lonely Bird
by Ruth Whiting; illus. by the author
Primary    Candlewick    40 pp.
10/23    9781536226188    $18.99
e-book ed.  9781536234466    $18.99

Stories of tiny beings navigating their large surroundings have long populated children’s literature. Here, a simple sketch of a bird on a scrap of white paper explores an all-too-big world in the home of a young family. Her stark-white two-dimensional form stands out against the (impressively realistic) three-dimensional child’s bedroom where she lives. A self-proclaimed artist, the “rather shy” creature ventures through the family’s house when creativity calls for it. After conversing with a familiar wall outlet, Lonely Bird hefts the pages of a coffee table book—since “books are a great place to start” for inspiration—before collecting tiny items for her artistic projects. After stumbling upon a “visitor” (a crumpled paper remnant), she lovingly transforms it into a six-legged lizard of sorts: at last, a companion! The pair faces near peril against a vacuum cleaner, and Lonely Bird must venture into the “monster’s” belly to rescue her new friend before repairing it and rehoming it upon the child’s drawing desk. The shy bird seems content in proximity with those she admires; she may be alone, but she hardly seems lonely. Whiting delivers a subdued, evocative, quirky, and oddly endearing tale that invites us to look creatively at the smallest things in another light.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.