The Rare Bird
by Elisha Cooper; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Roaring Brook    40 pp.
2/26    9781250364395    $18.99

A mostly white cat soars high above a mountain range on the cover of this quirky picture book, revealing to readers the unique qualities of the titular “bird.” The title page features the feline engrossed in a book about marine animals, while a dolphin and fish frolic on the copyright page. Next, the cat peruses a book about birds, and the transformation begins right there in his living room. “The Rare Bird flew through the forest, flying so fast he knocked the leaves off the trees.” This unusual animal then scampers up some curtains, or “high branches,” and next makes his way under a “splashing waterfall” that looks suspiciously like a shower. Cooper’s (most recently This Is a Book, rev. 7/25) offering captures the feeling of being lost in imaginative play. His pencil and watercolor illustrations—in a mix of double-page spreads, singles, and vignettes—with a tranquil sky-blue as the most dominant color add to the text’s dreamy nature. The cat continues his birdy ways until nighttime, when a bedtime story about a new set of animals intrigues him, and he “became an elephant”—eager to explore his “wild home” in the morning (and on the back endpapers). A resounding tribute to the power of reading and make-believe.

From the January/February 2026 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.