Once, a Bird

Starred review from August 1, 2023

PreS-Gr 3-The shadows are long on the snow, and the ice is going out of the lakes and rivers. Winter is giving up, and there are small green buds starting to unfurl on skinny, thawing branches where a small robin lands, just outside an apartment building. In this wordless book, there are already metaphors upon metaphors, for the world is not only leaving winter behind, but also a pandemic, and the people behind the apartment building's windows are looking out at the bird, and then, surprising themselves, at one another. Dion boldly moves back and forth between the perspective of the red-breasted robin, taking in dried yellow grass for nesting, and the perspective of children leaning out the windows, one white, one Black, gossiping excitedly. A dog gets walked. Old people hold hands. Three new birds are born and must be fed; they will need their strength to fly off to build their own nests. Hope builds, page by page, and all because the robin landed just then, on that branch. This is a very wise book, speaking volumes in Singh's stage directions and Dion's springtime colors. VERDICT Share this at story hours, or hand it to the child struggling to read; this communicates essential truths without use a word. Marvelous.-Kimberly Olson Fakih

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2023
A robin is a harbinger of hope. Though snow and ice linger, winter is over; spring greenery beckons. A robin searches for someplace to build a nest. Observing that streets, roads, and playgrounds are quiet and empty, the bird finally spies a tree overlooking an apartment building. The robin chirps joyfully--and awakens the curiosity of the building's tenants, still indoors. They flock to their windows, eager to witness this visitor, a reminder of the glorious natural world. A parent brings a youngster to see the robin up close; one resident photographs it; an elderly adult encourages a kid to view the bird through binoculars; another resident lifts a dog to look and listen; two kids chat excitedly via next-door windows. The robin painstakingly builds a nest, lays eggs, and then feeds the hatchlings--all while diverse neighbors connect with nature and one another. This sweet, understated story is wordless--a perfect way to tell it, as it requires youngsters to relate to the illustrations in a unique, profoundly personal way. They'll bring their own sensibilities, understanding, ideas, and vocabulary to the artwork and, in doing so, connect with the book's theme--our deep connection to nature and the world around us. The elegant, lush, textured artwork, appearing as if produced on a soft cloth backing, was created using a combination of watercolor and gouache and finished digitally. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Refreshing, beautiful, moving, and meaningful. (Picture book. 3-6)

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 4, 2023
In the opening sequence of this eerie wordless picture book, a bird resembling a robin alights on snowy branches, then flies over cloverleaf highways and sectional croplands without encountering a single person. In lichen-green and pale blue watercolor and gouache panels, Dion shows the bird perched solo at an empty playground and bathing in a fountain, and what initially seems peaceful begins to feel troubling. As buds arrive on trees, the bird descends through chalky clouds to a branch near an apartment building, where its song inspires astonished humans, portrayed with various skin tones, to look, leading to moments of connection. Even after the bird raises three young—drawing people to their windows and even out of doors—the title’s unsettling opening lingers, seeming to offer a subtext-heavy ecological warning that lands without much explanation. Ages 3–5.

Starred review from September 15, 2023
Preschool-Grade 3 *Starred Review* At winter's end, a red-breasted robin lands on a snow-covered branch and examines her surroundings. Melting ice and a tiny pink tree bud provide promises of new beginnings. Taking flight, the bird surveys barren cityscapes, twisting highways without any cars, and empty playgrounds. With a cinematic fluidity, Dion's marvelous watercolor, gouache, and digital illustrations evocatively convey Singh's thoughtful wordless narrative, inspired by a solitary walk taken during the COVID-19 lockdown. The bird's arrival to a neighborhood piques the interest of nearby apartment residents who open their drapes and look out their windows. The robin sings a solo birdsong for a smiling senior, flaps its wings and strikes a pose for a red-haired youth snapping cellphone photos, and perches on the edge of a windowsill for a child holding up their dog for a peek. Deciding to stay awhile, the bird builds a nest and settles in. Small acts of kindness and connection can be found throughout the scenes, such as the appearance of a bird feeder and the sight of two children leaning out their respective windows to chat. By the time three baby chicks hatch, spring has sprung, apartment doors are slowly opening, and people are returning to the outside world. This multilayered wordless picture book has much to say about nature, renewal, and resiliency.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2023
This wordless story follows a small bird as she perches on a snow-covered branch. When she sees a little red bud on one of the branches, she takes flight. Panel art from an aerial viewpoint shows her flying over the melting, greening landscape below. After a quick bath in a public fountain, she settles on a tree outside a drab apartment building. Through spot art combined with full spreads, the watercolor and gouache illustrations (finished in Photoshop) softly depict the emergence of life outside the apartment building as well as inside. As the tree buds and the bird begins to build a nest, the building itself appears to be waking up. The view into various windows reveals those inside taking notice of the bird and sharing their discoveries with others. An elderly lady dozing in a chair perks up; a girl takes the bird's picture with her phone; a child holds up their puppy for a better view. A bird feeder appears in the tree, along with blue eggs in the nest. By the time those baby birds fledge, the illustrations are bursting with spring -- there are flowers, growing plants, green trees, and people bustling in and out of the building and interacting with one another. This thoughtful interpretation of the change of season and of human connection presents a variety of characters to follow and details to consider, while the wordless aspect provides the necessary space to enjoy the book slowly and thoroughly. Simultaneously published in French as Il �tait une fois un oiseau. Julie Roach

(Copyright 2023 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)