BooksForKidsBlog

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Birdwatching! Max and Bird by Ed Vere

MAX IS A KITTEN. KITTENS CHASE BIRDS.

BIRD IS A BIRD. BIRDS GET CHASED BY KITTENS.

That's the way it usually is. Nature takes its course.

"LET'S BE FRIENDS," SAID MAX.

"FIRST, I'LL CHASE YOU. THEN MAYBE I'LL EAT YOU UP."

Bird may be a fledgling, but he wasn't born yesterday. Being a potential cat treat is not on his bucket list. And besides, he's never even learned to FLY. He observes that eating each other is not part of being friends, either. Bird launches into a lesson on how friends help each other. As a diversion tactic, he slyly suggests that Max give him flying lessons. Max is intrigued, but his knowledge of the principles of flight is pretty paltry.

"BIRD, WHAT YOU DO IS.... ER...

AHEM! WE'LL GO TO THE LIBRARY!" DECIDED MAX.

So far, so good, thinks Bird. At the library they make their way to the section on flight, but there's a problem with this delaying technique. There are a lot of books, but Max is a quick study. He boils the principles of winged flight down right away:

1. CONCENTRATE.
2. STICK OUT YOUR WINGS.
3. FLAP!

Max tries to demonstrate, but does not achieve lift off. Neither does Bird. At the end of the day they are too tired for any chasing games. The next day Max's flaps are still unproductive. Bird, however, has (as Pooh's friend Owl wisely pointed out) "the necessary dorsals," and eventually his practice is rewarded with a short solo flight. Max is a changed kitten. He's truly proud of his friend and finds he has no desire to eat him.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT FRIENDS DO!"

In Ed Vere's latest story of his adorable little black kitten Max, nurture trumps nature in Max and Bird(Sourcebooks/Jabberwocky, 2017). Friendship changes everything, and Max and Bird look forward to lots of happy future fun. Ed Vere's artwork is deceptively simple, placing his little black bird and his little black cat front and center, spot-art style, against bright backgrounds, directing the eye to his two very different youngsters working out how to be friends. Vere's illustrations make use his characters' big round eyes to portray most of their feelings, with just a touch of body language in Max's tail and Bird's little wings to tell the story, making this funny tale perfect for preschoolers still trying their young wings in beginning friendships.

Ed Vere's other Max books are Max the Brave and Max at Night (see reviews here.)

Says School Library Journal, "This book is a fun read about forming meaningful friendships and learning from others."

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