The Day I Became A Bird

“Sylvia only has eyes for birds.  When I look at her, I forget everything else”

The Day I Became a Bird by Ingrid Chabert Guridi

Do you remember your first crush when you were a kid?  I do!  I was in first grade and his first name was the same as my last name so I immediately thought it was fate.  He was my primary target when we played hugging tag (we were just to shy for kissing tag) and he had short blond hair.  There is something so simple and sweet about puppy love.  This book captures that beautifully.

It is about a little boy who falls in love for the first time on the first day of school.  Her name is Sylvia and he is absolutely smitten.  The only problem is that Sylvia only has eyes for birds.  She wears birds on her dresses, she observes birds, and she even helps them when they are injured.  The little boy decides that in order to gain her attention he needs to do something bold.  So, he creates himself a bird costume and wears it absolutely everywhere.  He patiently waits for her in his bird costume to notice her and after a while, when his costume is falling apart, she does!  And he is happy.

This is such an endearing and sentimental story.  I love how simple and straightforward the text is, yet it has a very poetic feel about it.  My favorite line is at the ending when she finally notices him.  Mission accomplished the he states “I’m not a bird anymore, but I feel like I am flying.”  I also love how Ingrid uses a lot of negative space in her illustrations.  It adds to the simple and calm feeling the text evokes.  Her color palette is on point, using only black, white, and beige with the exception of a little blue on the bird feathers when he first dons the costume and on another bird illustration.  This book is a unique and beautiful piece of art that is enjoyable to read.

This book comes out this fall from Kids Can Press.