Grasso’s vital message of the dangers and destructiveness of trash, toxic waste, deforestation, and even noise pollution on wildlife is gentle but urgent for young readers. The cute, cartoon illustrations by Tuğçe Cinardarli in full-page panels show vibrant and expressive birds and their friends, such as a frog, deer, and crab, in distress when encountering humanity’s impact on the land and waterways. The vastness of the problem of pollution is depicted in the variety of flying and aquatic birds in residential areas, ocean front, forest, and rivers.
At times the poetry can be strained—“In their homes our junk does clash” reads one line—but it’s also often refreshingly pointed. “Every loud noise kills their poise,” Grasso writes, the words accompanying a touching illustration of a bird in a nest shielding its chicks from the roar of a lawnmower. Grasso rhymes that with a potent warning: “They stop the songs our world enjoys.” The message of conservation is clear and impassioned, and young readers will be drawn to the cute birds, bold color palette , and the easy-to-read words and rhymes.
Takeaway: An introduction to pollution’s effects on birds, with easy-to-read text and cute illustrations.
Great for fans of: Deborah Diesen’s The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans up the Oceans, Erica Fyvie’s Trash Revolution.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A-
Illustrations: A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A
