(2) K-3 The titular protagonist (Lonely Bird, rev. 11/23) has begun to notice something unusual about herself. To readers, she already stands out as a small, stark, and white line drawing against a three-dimensional painted world. From where she stands on the windowsill, she sees birds using their wings in a way that she can't, and she begins to wonder about "who she is and where she fits." She surrounds herself with books, feathers, drawings, and images of flight to help develop her calculations and determine the materials she needs. At last, she builds a "contraption that is very exciting to look at": a flying machine. As with many experiments, an initial faulty flight eventually leads to a successful soar out the window and into...a spiderweb. Once it's clear her contraption has crumpled, she worries she won't be able to find a way back home. Thankfully, Lonely Bird makes an eight-legged friend who inspires an invention that just might work. This story champions ingenuity and aspirations and is a lovely extension of the journey in the first book. Subdued and thoughtful, it instills in readers that a dream can both send us soaring and bring us home.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2024

(2) K-3 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.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2023