Ten birds Read aloud rhymes to bend and break

PreS-Gr 3-These are "read aloud" verses precisely because they sound funny. A concept book with as many tricks as a bird has feathers, the rhymes themselves are small disasters that force the descending number to follow the rhyme pattern no matter how torturous: "Three tired birds were nesting in the straw/When it burst into flames with a terrible roar,/So then there were TWOAR." Not only are the numbers awry, but with each three- to four-line verse on the left page, a bird goes missing on the right. But a teaser exists: the bird that will fly off is pictured just below the rhyme, so the eye is compelled to quickly scan across to the other side in a satisfying search. At last, all of the birds gather back together, but astute visual readers will find that the end pages reveal a sweet change has occurred. The subtle hues evoke another time in which children's-book illustrations carried a kind of magical glow-think Arthur Rackham's soft, muted shades. A uniquely quirky flight of fancy.-Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ten birds frolic in fractured count-down number rhymes. Ten birds, most with identifying hats and cloaks, open this series of misfortunes in a wordless double-page spread showing a concert that, from their expressions, must be more cacophonous than musical. Then disaster happens: "Ten fine birds were sitting in a line / When the fence got smashed, / which was not a good sign, / So then there were NIGN." Similar calamities follow, each with its ending number misspelled to fit the rhyme. The verses appear on the left-hand pages, along with a pictorial hint about which bird will disappear. On the facing page, bordered at the top and bottom with white, are Gebert's illustrations of each catastrophe. (Some details are left for readers' imaginations, as when the "six scared birds" encounter a crocodile.) But all ends well. Readers will have to judge for themselves whether it's the parent owl or child that leaves the nest to "WUN," but the eggs inside miraculously hatch all 10 again. They end the tale with a quiet picnic. Wilson's clever translation of the German Mit groem Krach: Vom Reimen auf Biegen und Brechen (2012) preserves the tortured rhymes and most of the mispronunciations of the numbers. Even children who can't yet read will get at least a portion of the joke. (Picture book. 5-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Ten fine birds were sitting in a line When the fence got smashed, which was not a good sign, So then there were nign!   Excerpted from Ten Birds by Jurg Amman All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.