PPBF: The Birds (and my 400th post!)

Author/Illustrator: James and Ruth McCrea (one of 4 books the couple collaborated on)
Publisher: McClelland and Stewart, 1966
Ages: 3-7yrs
Themes: humorous stories, birds, friendship
Opening: Once there were two friends who were very fond of sailing. Every day, right after lunch, they went for a sail in their little boat.
Summary: (from my library catalog) Mr. Woolsey and Mr. Tootle, two bird friends find their lovely umbrella missing from their boat. It is returned the next day, and gone again the following day. An investigation brings the two birds a new friend and the boat a new resident.

I like this book because: I saw an image from the book posted by Rowboat Watson on Antoinette Portis’ fb page (she posts a bird a day), and had to find out more about it. The artwork is striking in mustard yellow, magenta and black and white line-work. Simple, quirky, beautiful. The story is simple but told with just the right amount of silly humor for my taste – the fact that they use a flower pot for bailing says it all!

Resources/activities: Make paper cutouts of the characters and the elements needed to tell the story again – live action style: a boat, an umbrella, a flower pot, a tin box for cookies (or real cookies – yum!).

PPBF is taking a break until September, but you can still head over to Susanna’s blog for a wonderful list of titles with resources. She keeps the back door unlocked!

The book was reissued by Houghton Mifflin with illustrations by Swiss cartoonist Jürg Furrer in 1977.