Written and illustrated by Celia Godkin
Our Choice - Canadian Children’s Book Centre
Simple text encourages new readers to follow the trials of a baby robin as he finds the courage for that first flight. As the reader follows the baby bird from egg, through feeding to leaving the nest, an orange marmalade cat watches from a distance. When the flying lessons begin he creeps closer and closer. Baby bird’s leap from the nest, just seconds ahead of a questing paw, has us all cheering as he opens his wings and flies.
Reviews:
"This delightful book has so many possibilities. It is a welcome addition to environmental science, spring and growing independence at the primary level."
-- Resource Links
"The story is simple, suspenseful and even educational. Young readers will learn how baby robins hatch, why eggs are sometimes found underneath a nest, and how young robins learn to fly. The suspense is conveyed through the illustrations and the layout; when the smallest bird finally flies to get away from the cat, he proceeds one step - one page - at a time." – Canadian Book Review Annual
"…Godkin livens up the story … with rhetorical questions and exclamations she directs at the reader. “Should mother bird throw the egg out too?” she asks, when all the other eggs have already hatched. “But what’s this!” she exclaims, and we notice that one of the birds has refused to fly. Her biologically accurate illustrations also contribute to this simple story – we see pink, featherless babies become downy fledglings, notice the shape and location of the nest. All in all, another satisfying contribution from this Canadian series of early readers"– The Toronto Star