THE PAPER BIRD

Annie loves to paint colorful pictures. But what happens to Annie when others don’t seem to share her excitement for them?

As classmates snicker and sadness overtakes Annie, her bright, colorful world fades to gray. Alone on the playground after school, Annie decides to try drawing again and creates a turquoise bird with uneven wings. Despite Annie’s shame at its imperfections, her bird magically flies off the page, trailing a turquoise swoop. With increasing cheer, she continues to draw, creating a colorful forest. At school the next day, she and the other students draw together again, this time all of them expressing joy with color. Unfortunately, this book’s plot is murky, starting with the fact that readers never learn why the children picked this “Wednesday, like any other,” to “giggle” and take “sneaky looks” at Annie’s pictures. Sadly, Annie does not talk to anyone about her feelings; she assumes how others feel about her pictures. Furthermore, the reason for her classmates’ sudden turnaround is likewise obscure. The flowery prose does not help children sort these issues out, but the draining of color from the scenes to gray is a nice representation of Annie’s emotional state. Annie herself, a little Black girl, is adorable, and her body language is expressive even though she never speaks; however, the black cloud that frequently floats over Annie’s head is clichéd. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Annie, appealing as she is, lacks a voice. It will be difficult to make her someone children will want to know.