This book is currently on Zadie’s list of haunted items in our house. We’ve witnessed the posession of toys before, but this is the first time it has happened to a book. I usually have no idea why a once-beloved object (a benign plastic boat, a green monkey, a flashcard with a baboon on it…) becomes taboo. In the case of “Boo Hoo Bird” I have a guess.
“Boo Hoo Bird” is the story of a blue bird who gets bonked on the head while playing catch with a raccoon. He’s hurt and no one seems to be able to make him feel better despite offering hugs, kisses, cookies, or rounds of hide-and-seek. When all of the bird’s friends are crying, upset because they can’t make him feel better, he cheers up and you realize that he’s been milking it the whole time.
Much as I’d like to believe that Zadie’s with me on the awkwardness of the book’s conclusion, I think her aversion to the book has more to do with the fact that the bird’s inability to feel better doesn’t fit any of the story lines she knows. She’s in a big storytelling phase and knows a dozen or so stories about things that she’s experienced, whether she remembers the actual events or not. One of these stories is about her cousin who bumped his head. We go through the story pretty much daily: Charlie bumped his head, he cried, his mom picked him up, gave him a hug and kiss, rubbed his back, and said “It’s OK, Charlie.” The protagonist’s slow recovery in “Boo Hoo Bird” deviates from the story she knows so well, and I think it distresses her. I don’t think she’s consciously aware of the concept of manipulating a situation so that others can continue to dote on you, though if we’re up from 3:30-5:00am again tonight I’ll start to wonder. But for now she clearly doesn’t get that bird is being a whiny baby.
We have the book for another couple of weeks before it has to go back to the library, and I’m hoping that Zadie comes around and gives it another shot. The illustrations are bold, bright, and cartoony. The pages are filled with chaotic flowers and the animals’ expressions are loving and kind. And for an extremely mom-attached kid it’s a good example of the ways in which different people can help.
Tags: 18 months +, animals, emotions
I’m honored to have such a strong reaction to my book! I hope Zadie comes round. I’m really proud of this story, I put a lot into it.
I never thought of Bird as being particularly whiny. He’s certainly melodramatic though. And I don’t think he was milking his friends for attention at all. The BONK was real and it hurt. This story is very much a “true story” and grew from my own observations of children. Kids often forget why they’re unhappy, they get so caught up in the act of crying that they forget what got them going in the first place (especially if they’re really tired). The message in the book is more about the importance of friends. Bird is finally snapped back to reality when he notices that his friends are all miserable now. I considered the idea of Bird going to his mom for help, but decided that that didn’t make for a very interesting story (ie: no conflict). This way Bird ends up fixing the problem himself by helping his friends. And this way there was a lot of opportunity to indulge Bird’s big dramatic streak! He’s a lot of fun write.
And that’s my two cents. Thanks so much for posting a review though. The art in this book was a lot of fun to make. I loved drawing all those crazy flowers.
Wow, Jeremy, I’m honored to have you commenting on my post! Thanks for your thoughts on Bird’s personality. “Melodramatic” is a much better description than my “whiny.” And I love the fact that Bird doesn’t go to his mother for help–it’s definitely a more interesting story this way. I’m sure Zadie will come around. When she does, I’m looking forward to checking out the rest of the Bird books. Thanks again for your comments!
Hey, I’m happy having people discussing my books. They’re pretty silly but I’m having a LOT of fun writing and illustrating them. I wish I could tell you there are lots more out there to discover, but I’m still pretty new at this and only have three books available right now. I have some exciting new ones in the pipeline though. Thanks again for the review!