The Cuckoo Bird - Softcover

Corbalis, Judy; Armitage, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0233982671 ISBN 13: 9780233982670

Publisher: Scholastic Ltd, 1988

Synopsis

A little girl and her grandmother try to outwit a shape-changing, greedy cuckoo bird who has tricked his way into their house

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Taking the cuckoo's unpleasant habit of eliminating the competition for food, Corbalis creates a cautionary tale about a little girl warned by her grandmother to keep strangers out of the house. She doesn't admit the Cuckoo Bird--disguised first as a soldier, and then as an old man--but she can't resist the baby on the doorstep (even though some telltale feathers and a beaky nose should have warned her). The little one demands all food and toys, grows at an alarming rate, and announces that he is staying. On her return, the grandmother sizes up the situation and is able to get rid of the bird. The colors are darkly dramatic; the roughly outlined illustrations with splashes of color on textured paper are in keeping with the dynamics of the folkloric tale. Several pages present more than one scene, economically covering the plot's many incidents. Especially exciting is the double-spread time-lapse transformation of the bird. This technique adds tension to the changes and to the frightening close-ups of the demanding Cuckoo-baby. All the elements of a satisfying story are here: obedience, trickery, threatening behavior, and a just conclusion brought about by quick wits. Youngsters, like the granddaughter, will be comforted to learn that even grownups make errors in judgment, and will feel triumphant when the girl bests the Cuckoo Bird. --Jane Saliers, Atlanta-Fulton Pub . Lib .
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Warned to let no one in, a little girl repels a cuckoo's advances when he comes disguised as a soldier and then as an old man, but she's fooled when he becomes a baby and takes him in--an error she regrets as soon as his raucous, insatiable demands begin. When Grandmother returns, she suggests ignoring the greedy bird, but finally it's the child who tempts him out of the house with an apple. Corbalis weaves universal themes into a compelling tale, ably extended in Armitage's vigorous watercolors, where the cuckoo's changing form is reiterated across pages like insistent pecking, and somber shadows underline the story's darker side: powerful stuff--agreeably leavened by the comic exaggeration of a baby's normal behavior and the loving collaboration that ousts the intruder. (Picture book. 6-9) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Ltd
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0233982671
• ISBN 13: 9780233982670
• Binding: Paperback