Once, a Bird
by Rina Singh; illus. by Nathalie Dion
Preschool, Primary    Orca    32 pp.
9/23    9781459831438    $21.95
e-book ed.  9781459831452    $16.99
French ed.  9781459839045    $21.95

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 était une fois un oiseau.

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