Love Birds by Jane Yolen illustrated by Anna Wilson

Jon is an observer and a listener. He rarely talks but he does listen to the sounds in his new neighborhood and most of all he listens to the birds in and around his house. He hears the piercing song of the Cardinal, the shrieks of the gulls, the tap, tap of the woodpecker, and the caws of the crows. Jon not only listens to the birds, but he knows their names too. Look closely at the book cover and you might be able to identify some of the birds mention in the story. 

"A single robin singing to a streetlight, geese in long vees honking homeward, barn swallows twittering clatter as they headed home to roost, and the lullaby coos of the local doves sitting on the ready nests."

There is one bird, though, that Jon longs to hear - the autumn owls. When he hears a barred owl Jon makes his own call rather like a conversation only it is not a bird - it is a girl! 

"... the girl held out her hand. 'Janet', she said. 'I thought you were a barred.' And then she laughed."

Jon has found a new friend and he has found his own voice. 

"For days and weeks, and into the years, they listened and talked, till, for both of them, their voices became the most important sound in thew whole wide world - the voice of a best and beloved friend."

You might already know Owl Moon (1987) is one of my all-time favourite books so when I saw, firstly that this book was by Jane Yolen, and then when I read the back notes which refer to Owl Moon, I knew I had to read this book which was published in 2022. Jane Yolen is the author of over 400 books. She was born in 1939 and she lives in Western Massachusetts. You can see more art by Anna Wilson here. If you act quickly I've seen this hardcover book listed for under AUS$20 here - you can also see inside this book.

There are lots and lots of books in libraries and shops about making new friends, but I would add this to your collection partly because of the warm illustrations but also because of the way Janet reacts when she meets Jon. A shared interest gives these two kids a lasting and meaningful friendship. 

In her notes Jane Yolen says - "This book is a kind of partner to my book Owl Moon, which is about my daughter Heidi, going owling with her father when she was very young. ... But this story takes that child, a bit older, on a different trip - to one of friendship and love."

Feathers and friendship make for a good pairing in this gentle ode to appreciating both. Kirkus

I previously talked about this book by Jane Yolen's Daughter Heidi Stemple:

Counting Birds

Here are some other books illustrated by Anna Wilson. I was interested to discover this from her web page where she says "I am from the ironbark region of central Victoria, Australia, but currently live in Edinburgh. We moved to the UK at the beginning of 2020 and haven’t left! I work for people worldwide."