One Word and a Bird by Stephen Michael King

"I was a long way from home and searching for a word, a big word to make me feel ... "

Or can he find an important word or a high-spirited word or a comforting word.

The boy has ideas about this word - he has such a rich vocabulary presumably from reading. Look closely you can see him reading a book as he walks across the landscape of the title page. 

This book has a repeated story structure which will make it a delight to read aloud. Along the way your young reading companion will hear so many rich words such as humongous, gargantuan, auspicious, magnanimous, dynamic and courageous. These words match the things he sees on his journey but they are not quite the right fit. In fact it almost feels as though the boy does not notice his surroundings even when the things he walks past are enormous and amazing.  Where is he going? What is he looking for? 

Also along the way, various 'friends' appear - a small bird, a little dog, a horse, and even a tiny snail. He greets each one with kindness and we see his new companions joining him on several beautiful wordless spreads. These are the quiet pages that will allow you as a reader to stop, pause, slow down and experience the wonders of the night sky. Watch as the story moves from dusk, to evening, to a stormy night and finally to the dawn.

This is a book you might overlook but can I recommend you take the time to pick it up and read it through a few times - slowly. And then find a group of children and share this book with them.  This story is sure to generate some great discussions with your library group. One Word and a Bird was published in April 2025, so I expect to see it listed as a 2026 CBCA notable title.

Here are the teachers notes from Scholastic Australia. I actually like the last question posed in these notes: What can this book teach us about life and what is important? If you had to choose the one most important thing that this book can teach us, what would it be?

This is a multi-layered story that will mean different things to different readers and can be interpreted in myriad ways. King has created an original narrative that uses powerful language and enchanting illustrations to prompt young people aged 4+ to think about what is important to them, why friendship is necessary, and how serendipity can play out in curious and surprising ways. However, in the end, like with all good journeys, the road leads home. The conclusion here is both foreseeable and heartfelt. Books and Publishing

Companion books:

Phileas's fortune

One Word from Sophia

The Word Collector

I am a huge fan of Stephen Michael King - especially of his earliest books:

Where does Thursday go?

Beetle Soup

Tishkin Silk

Henry and Amy

Amelia Ellicott's Garden

Three

Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle

Bear and Rat

Happy Birthday

Yes, it is my Birthday so let's celebrate with some Happy Birthday picture books!

Happy Birthday, Moon

Blue Kangaroo!

David McKee

Tacky the Penguin

Melrose and Croc: A hero's Birthday

Sometimes Cake

Where does Thursday go?

Billy's Bucket

Bread and Jam for Frances

There's a Hippopotamus on our roof eating cake

A library book for Bear

Carmela full of wishes

The Birthday Invitation

Amelia Ellicott's Garden by Liliana Stafford illustrated by Stephen Michael King

Opening sentence: A long time ago, Amelia Ellicott's family owned most of Sampson Street, from the fish-and-chip shop on the corner to the roundabout on the main road.

But over time the street has changed and now number fifty-six is overshadowed by a block of flats and a high fence. In the past Amelia knew her neighbours but now she is all alone. Amelia has grown old and her garden as become hard to maintain. There are weeds and the roses badly need pruning. At least her chickens are happy. Every evening Amelia sits with her chickens and has a chat about her day.

"They are Pekin Bantams, the colour of sunshine and marigolds."

Sadly when the new chicks hatch, there is no one to share the joy. Her cat Mustafah refuses to be interest in chickens. 

Meanwhile, in those high-rise flats next door Tony Timponi watches the chickens too. He used to live in Italy and he had chickens and goats and fruit trees. Adrian Pop looks down too. He would love a garden where he could grow cabbage and zucchinis. Lin Li would love to see some ducks paddling in Amelia's little pond and the Martinovitch children dream of making a tyre swing in the big mulberry tree. 

"But no one ever says a word. They are too shy. And besides Amelia Ellicott never gives them the time of day"

Now pause. You have read about the problem which at its heart are themes of loneliness and longing. What would you add to the story to facilitate a change? Liliana Stafford adds a wild storm. Remember those neighbours have been watching the garden. Now they spring into action. 

"And there in the pouring rain are all the neighbours running around chasing chickens or trying to catch bits of Amelia Ellicott's garden." 

And the best thing, apart from everyone meeting over cups of tea, is that the fence that once separated residents of the high-rise flats from Amelia Ellicott and her garden, has fallen down. Go back and read all those dreams - a tree swing, a vegetable garden, sharing baby chicks, and friends - all of those dreams can now come true!

Amelia Ellicott's Garden was first published in 2000. The illustrations by Stephen Michael King are fresh and vibrant - I think his early books were among his best - I am thinking of The Man who loved Boxes, Henry and Amy, Mutt Dog, Pocket Dogs, Beetle Soup, Where does Thursday go? and Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle. Click this link to see the posts about lots of books illustrated by Stephen Michael King. 

When you open Amelia Ellicott's Garden spend some time on the first page, the imprint page, and the gloriously decorated title. I picked up Amelia Ellicott's garden at a recent charity book sale because I have always loved it. Sadly this book is now out of print, but I am sure it will be in most Australian school libraries. Here is a heart-felt review with teaching ideas from Children's Books Daily. In this video for the State Library of NSW Stephen Michael King talks about his book. 

Companion books (or perhaps you could read these as part of a mini theme about community life):

The Biscuit Maker

The Song for everyone

The Invisible

Old Fellow

Koala Ark by Stephen Michael King

"It came fast and without warning. The smouldering embers drifted into a smoky mist. There was great concern for the billabong friend."

The bushfire has arrived. Koala has a boat - an ark - and he sets off to collect all of his friends so they can be taken to a safe place. 

An ark! The original ark was filled with animals gathered by Noah - but in this book the disaster is not a flood it is a huge bushfire and the hero is not a man, it is a small, but heroic koala.

I love the spare text in this book and the hand drawn, fine line illustrations which on every page beautifully extend the text. Every face in this book conveys enormous emotion. Readers from other countries will be introduced to words such as billabong and Australian animals such as the Hopping Mouse, galah, bowerbird, tawny frogmouth, lorikeets, black cockatoos, and the bandicoot. 

The opening end paper of Koala Ark is presented as an aerial or bird's eye view of small islands near the coast of the Southern Ocean. Each area is inhabited by a different  group of animals. The landscape is lush and green. Then on the next page there is a huge orange and yellow image. You may immediately think, as I did, of fire.  On the title page we can see koala island and koalas enjoying their daily life but something is coming - a bushfire. On the final end paper the viewer zooms in even closer and it is clear the danger has passed and the koalas are once again able to enjoy their small patch of precious habitat.  The end paper images in Koala Ark reminded me of the images by Stephen Michael King for the story Up the Creek from Beetle Soup by Robin Morrow illustrated by Stephen Michael King (1997). 

Read the true life events that inspired Stephen Michael King to write this book. Sales of this book will be used to support: Koalas in Care  and Aussie Ark/ Koala Ark Project.

Companion reads:

You could also compare the bushfire images in Koala Ark with an earlier book by Stephen Michael King - Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle:

Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle

Take a look at my Pinterest collection of picture books about Bushfires here in Australia.