A review by mat_tobin
The Dead Bird by Margaret Wise Brown
4.0
I did some reading around the book and found that, apparently, it took Wise Brown's death and a significant time to pass between it first being written before The Dead Bird was published (from 1938-1958 to be extact). A very different book to the far more commercially successful, [b:Goodnight Moon|32929|Goodnight Moon|Margaret Wise Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1439223893s/32929.jpg|1086867] The Dead Bird tells the story of four children in the park finding the body of a small bird and choosing to bury it.
Originally illustrated by [a:Remy Charlip|27552|Remy Charlip|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311577404p2/27552.jpg] (whose version also looks excellent), this version has been reimagined by Christian Robinson whose basic and simple style, I feel, support the surface simplicity of the story. The characters are far more diverse in ethnicity and the positioning throughout of the reader's view is interesting and reflective. What Robinson brings to the story is a sense that the event really happened to children in a real place and I think this brings the story closer to the younger reader.
I'm so glad that Wise Brown's story has been reprinted. I remember well coming across a dead animal for the first time and feeling the same, curious feelings that the characters in this book do too. They are gentle and thoughtful in their reflection and their actions after show a sensitivity and innocent playfulness which captures the mind of a young child far so well.
Originally illustrated by [a:Remy Charlip|27552|Remy Charlip|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1311577404p2/27552.jpg] (whose version also looks excellent), this version has been reimagined by Christian Robinson whose basic and simple style, I feel, support the surface simplicity of the story. The characters are far more diverse in ethnicity and the positioning throughout of the reader's view is interesting and reflective. What Robinson brings to the story is a sense that the event really happened to children in a real place and I think this brings the story closer to the younger reader.
I'm so glad that Wise Brown's story has been reprinted. I remember well coming across a dead animal for the first time and feeling the same, curious feelings that the characters in this book do too. They are gentle and thoughtful in their reflection and their actions after show a sensitivity and innocent playfulness which captures the mind of a young child far so well.