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PICTURE BOOKS
Cassidy, Sara

Helen's Birds

48 pp. | Groundwood | September, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-77306-038-5 $18.95 | Ebook ISBN 978-1-77306-040-8
(2) K-3 Illustrated by Sophie Casson. Wordless panels explore intergenerational friendships, nature, and the process of grief, starting when a young girl and her mom move into a new neighborhood. Riding around on her tricycle, the child notices her elderly neighbor across the street feeding the birds. As time passes (the tricycle makes way for a bicycle; the girl gets taller), the child and her neighbor begin to care for the birds together, as well as playing cards and sharing stories. The two delight in the natural world, observing, among other wonders, a hummingbird, a majestic hawk, and baby birds hatching and then fledging. One night the girl wakes to see her neighbor being carried away on a stretcher; in the illustrations, disturbing red circles from the ambulance lights add to the sense of tension and urgency. Over the space of a few intense panels, autumn turns to winter, the birds are left to fend for themselves, and the neighbor's house is sold and then razed. A found memento of their friendship finally triggers the girl into reckoning with her grief. When spring arrives, she begins to care for the birds again on her own, honoring her friend and bringing the joys of nature back to her neighborhood. Equally heartbreaking and encouraging, this moving look at meaningful friendship offers valuable honesty and insight.
Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

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