Kozo the Sparrow
by Allen Say; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Clarion/HarperCollins    40 pp.
10/23    9780063248465    $19.99

As he often does, Say retells a moving story from his childhood in post–WWII Japan. An eight-year-old boy rescues an injured baby sparrow from some bullies intent on tormenting it, trading them everything he can think of, including his father’s American baseball. When he arrives home, his mother is sympathetic but not especially hopeful, while his father shouts, “Nothing can save that creature!” Resolute, the boy names the bird Kozo and figures out how to nurse it back to health. One day Kozo escapes—but the two have grown close, and the bird flies back to the boy. When his well-meaning teacher persuades him to bring the bird to show his class, promising to keep the other children away, things don’t go as planned, and he leaves school with the bird, only to find the same bullies waiting outside for him. He runs and runs but realizes the only thing to do is to open the birdcage; the final spread is wordless, showing a flock of sparrows in the sky and Kozo flying away, presumably joining them. The ending is sudden and heartbreaking, but the boy has again saved his beloved bird; an author’s note closes the affecting book. Say’s pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations depict with equal clarity the rural Japanese setting and the young protagonist’s quiet determination and devotion.

From the November/December 2023 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.