The Queen of the Birds by Karine Polwart illustrated by Kate Leiper

Who is the best? Who is the biggest? Who is the strongest? Who can fly high and far? Who has the best song? Who has the brightest feathers? Who should be the king or queen of the birds?

Arguments begin. There has been a huge storm and someone needs to sort it all out. The eagle suggests they need a king and that they way to select a king is to hold a flying contest. 

"They flocked in their millions from all over the kingdom. The ruby-throated hummingbird, the curlew and the cuckoo. The white-crested laughing thrush, the heron and the hoopoe. The robin, the flamingo, the gannet and the crane."

Birds gather and the contest begins. Of course some birds don't fly - such as the penguin. Other birds only fly very short distances such as the pheasant and the partridge. Songbirds need energy for singing. Eagle knows he will be crowned the winner. He will be the King of the Birds! But as he flies high in the sky a tiny bird pops up beside him and then she flies even higher. It is the tiny Jenny Wren. 

"A queen for the birds, not a king!"

Now go back to the problem. All of this was not about winning or ruling it was about cleaning up the mess from the storm. Jenny Wren suggests that everyone can work together. Everyone can use their own special talents and very soon the work will be done. 

This story is based on a Celtic folktale. 

The art in this book is glorious:

My only very tiny quibble (I do adore this book) is the search and find page at the back which shows twenty-five birds for readers to identify does not list the puffin which as you may know is my most favourite bird. There is a puffin on the back cover and you will spy one in this illustration.

Publisher blurb: After a terrible storm, the Kingdom of Birds is looking for a leader. Will it be the bird with the loveliest song, or the brightest plumage? The fastest in the air, or underwater? The bird who flies highest, or those who stick together and work as a team? All across the sky, birds are flocking together. Nightingales and robins, barn owls and blackbirds. The eagle, the flamingo, the birds of the moor. Curlews and cuckoos and herons and hoopoes. And Wee Jenny Wren. Let the contest begin!

The Queen of the Birds has an easy to read lyrical text which uses alliteration, rhyme, consonance and different sized fonts to give it a musical quality. The words are woven around Kate Leiper’s vibrant illustrations which include lots of white background space. Story Snug

Companion reads:

Best Test

The Go-Away Bird