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Summary
Summary
For Mags and Cody, summer has always meant long golden days with Gramps and Grandma at the farm on the ridge, where the wheat fields stretch to the horizon and bluebirds sing from the old wood fence. But now Grandma has died and Gramps is selling off his fields one by one, and the bluebirds -- no longer at home in Grandma's abandoned garden of tangled weeds -- are gone. How can Mags and Cody bring them back, bring everything back? This rich picture book -- the collaboration of a master storyteller and an immensely gifted artist -- offers readers of all ages hope, comfort, and the renewal that can come with great patience and love. Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' 2001 Golden Kite Honor Book Award Winner
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-When Mags, the narrator, and her younger brother, Cody, visit Gramps at the farm, they realize how different things are without Grandma. Although the wheat fields are still present, they belong to someone else. Grandma's garden is "a tangle of thistles and grass." Cody wonders where the bluebirds are and his sister remembers that Grandma said she had a deal with them. She'd grow their favorite foods and, in return, they'd warble in each new day. Mags begins to restore the garden while Cody studies the birds' habits. When he appears to be missing, his grandfather gets a call from Mr. Nelson's general store. Cody has walked the two miles to the store all by himself and has purchased a bluebird nesting box with his own money. Together, Gramps and Cody comfort one another and help build a loving memorial to Grandma. Coupled with the rich text are wheat-colored pages containing hints of painted flowers, nests, or bluebird eggs that blend into the splendid illustrations. A concluding section, "About Bluebirds," states that these birds "were once one of America's most common birds" and notes the address and Web site for the North American Bluebird Society.-Karen Land, Greenport Public School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
This slender tale features King-Smith's (Babe, the Gallant Pig; Spider Sparrow) signature talking animals and gentle humor, but falls shy of his usual standards. Mary Bird is eight the summer she discovers that her little brother can fly. On Friday, June 20, "I looked up, and there I saw BillyÄhis nose, his tummy, and his toes touching the ceiling. He wasn't walking in his sleep, he was floating in it!" With the help of her guinea pig and cat (both of which can talk), Mary deduces that Billy can defy gravity only during a full moon. One August night, BillyÄwho has no recollection of his feats the morning afterÄactually makes it out his window, swooping through the night sky. So begins a series of mild adventuresÄincluding a cat burglar who gets his comeuppance when an "alien" (Billy) attacks himÄuntil a lunar eclipse grounds Billy for good. King-Smith makes some slapstick jokes about the situation ("Goodness, how time flies," remarks their mother concerning the late hour, "And that's not the only thing that's been flying," says Mary to herself), and younger readers ready to test their wings on a short novel should find the story engaging. But the novel jumps from one of Billy's flights to the next, without much character development or description of daily life. Fans of King-Smith's more substantial fare may wish this one were a bit more meaty. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Two children from the city visit their widowed grandfather in the country and help him restore their grandmother's garden, which their grandfather had let go. Young Cody surprises his older sister and grandfather by purchasing a birdhouse to attract the bluebirds his grandmother loved. Andersen's loose gouache and oil paintings enrich the somewhat sentimental text. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Ecology, change, love, and loss are all part of this affecting picture book by the author of Marias Comet (1999). Mags and her little brother Cody spend summers with their Grandpa on his farm, although most of it has been sold off since Grandma died. The children notice right away that the bluebirds dont come anymore, and Cody wonders if they only liked Grandma. But the children find out that bluebirds need places to nest and were attracted by what she grew in her garden, so they set out to put it all to rights: Mags plants and weeds, and Cody researches bluebirds in secret and makes his own special contribution. How hard Grandpa and the children miss Grandma suffuses the text, and when Grandpa comes around to help make sure the bluebirds will return, the moment is very full indeed. The gouache and oil paintings hold just the right tone of bright summer memory: the text pages are strewn with stray flowers and images that reflect the full-page picture they face. Small touches abound, like grandpas shirt reflecting the blue of the birds, or a decorated initial twined with a flower that begins with that letter. Grandma and grandpa are not wizened and gray but appear to be in their 50s, making grandmas loss more poignant and Grandpas activity rational. An authors note on bluebirds and their habitats concludes the book. (Picture book. 6-9)
Booklist Review
Ages 6^-8. In this moving story, two children create a living memorial for their grandmother who loved gardens and bluebirds. When Mags, summering with her still-grieving Gramps, notices that the bluebirds no longer come to perch on the farmhouse fence, she ventures out to restore order to Grandma's overgrown garden patch, hoping to lure them back. Gramps finds new energy in the project, and even little Cody, Mag's brother, discovers a way to help. Hopkinson, author of A Band of Angels (1998), writes lyrically of wheat fields "washing up against the barn like a golden sea," and memories of Grandma's voice, "soft as a sighing pine," drifting out of the twilit garden. Andersen alternates present and past in impressionistic scenes that catch this heightened tone with long, flowing brushstrokes of glowing blues and golds. Rather than go for the tidy, predictable ending, Hopkinson leaves open the question of whether the bluebirds will actually be attracted--but youngsters will understand that the work, and the feelings behind it, are more important than the ostensible goal. A closing spread of information about bluebirds will allow children to dry their eyes, and to find out more about these once much more common American songbirds. --John Peters