THE LAST RAINBOW BIRD

Two children embark on a journey to help a solitary bird find a mate.

Professor Feather, a scientist, is distraught. They've found mates for many rare birds but not the rarest, a small gray bird with long spindly legs known as the Rainbow Bird. Alex and Jo, young friends of the professor, offer to find its mate. They sail off and ask the House Birds, Underwater Birds, and Lamp Birds if they’ve seen a Rainbow Bird, to no avail. One bouncing response from a multicolored row of Big-to-Little Birds (each smaller than the last) is stunning in its simplicity and playfulness. Ready to give up, Alex and Jo spot a Rainbow Bird dangerously perched on a rock at the head of a waterfall. Luckily, the children survive the tumble over the falls and land with the last Rainbow Bird on Jo’s hand. In an especially energetic, vibrant illustration, the Rainbow Bird’s feathers paint “the air: pink and blue and red and green, and every colour in between.” A giant Tower Bird flies Alex, Jo, and the Rainbow Bird back to the professor, and the two birds are very happy to be together. While the theme about the importance of safeguarding rare animals from extinction comes through clearly in this Norwegian import, the rich, rainbow-colored illustrations are truly the stars here. Professor Feather and Alex are light-skinned; Jo is brown-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A joyous conservation message wrapped in a colorful feast for the eyes.