Birdsong by Ellie Sandall

Even though I work in a library which is supposed to be a quiet environment I adore noisy books - books that demand a level of participation by the reader and listener.  Birdsong is a book like this.

This book arrived in our school library last year while I was on leave.  I was shelving some books this week and it caught my eye.

Told in rhyme one small bird lives in a tree and he sits on his branch and sings his song "Kitcha, kitcha, kee kee kee."  He is joined by another bird with his unique song and then two more colourful birds arrive and so the branch fills with colour and song.  In the style of Who sank the boat a huge bird flies in and all the other scatter.  The branch begins to crack and a little butterfly softly lands.  "Oh. The biggest bird, the loudest call ... but whatever could have made him fall?"

If you enjoy Birdsong you should also look for Feathers for Phoebe by Rod Clement, Igor the bird who couldn't sing by Satoshi Kitamura and Peeka-boo, the smallest bird in all the world by Eliza Feely.

Here is a terrific review which will explain some of the reasons why I also loved this book including the idea that it would be perfect for a performance.

Much like the language, the brightest colours are reserved for the bird portraits using beautiful watercolours in reds, blues, greens and a particularly striking range of orange.