I Am A Bird

4.0

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Author(s)

Hope Lim

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Hyewon Yum

Publisher

Candlewick

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

February 02, 2023

ISBN

978-1536208917

Buy This Book

On her daily bike ride with her dad, a bird-loving little girl passes a woman who frightens her—until she discovers what they have in common.

I am a bird. Ca-Caw! Ca-Caw!

Every day, a little girl rides to school on the back of her father's bike. As they twist and turn through the streets, the little girl spreads her arms like wings and sings her birdsong for all to hear. But when they pass a strange woman in blue who carries a mysterious bag, the girl goes quiet until the woman is out of sight. One day, when they’re running late, the little girl discovers what the woman does with her bag each morning—a surprise that transforms her wariness into a feeling of kinship to be celebrated. Hope Lim’s simple text and Hyewon Yum’s delicate, expressive illustrations create a touching story that encourages readers to embrace our similarities rather than focus on our differences.

Editor review

1 review

Birds and Bikes

June 07, 2023

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Every day, a little girl takes a bike ride with her father, and enjoys the feeling of going speedily along. She often pretends that she is a bird, flying through the skies on the back of the bike. ALong the route, the two often see a grumpt woman with a bag, hurrying along. The look on the woman's face scares the little girl, and she tries to hide behind her father. One day when they are running late, the girl sees the woman in the park, feeding the birds and talking to them. She calls out with a bird call to the woman, who answers back similarly, and learns that she should embrace the unseen similarities she has with people instead of focusing on differences.

Good Points

While there are many books about learning how to ride a bike, like Slater's Wild Blue and Medina's Elena Rides, I haven't seen many chronicling the experience of riding on the back of a bike. I did appreciate that both the little girl and her father wore helmets, which is such a good example to set!

The pencil and gouache drawings give this a timeless feel, and the bright primary colors stand out nicely against the spare background. This had a lovely outdoor feel of spring to it, and a feeling of movement, with the bike riding.

While the little girl isn't exactly bird watching, this is a good book to use to draw attention to the feathered friends a young readers might see out in the world, and can be followed up with Matheson's Bird Watch, Richmond's Bird Count and Amstutz Finding a Bird for Gramps that talk more about finding and identifying the feathered friends that are all around us.