HOORAY FOR BIRDS! written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins is a happy and fun-filled celebration of birds both in the sky and on the ground. Young children will eagerly interact visually and auditorily to the wonderful pictures and sounds gathered together in this beautiful oversized volume for children 2-5 years of age.
The rooster, with head raised, chest out and tail feathers displayed, wakes up the whole book with a rousing cock-a-doddle-doo! Then the fun starts. The chickens cluck, the starlings swoop, the ostrich runs, the cardinals tweet, the penguins waddle and the woodpecker pecks while the pink stork stands on one leg! The story invites the child to sing along, flap their wings and enjoy both the movements and sounds that burst forth on each page. “Can you imagine ...just for one day...you’re a busy bird? Yes, a bird! Hooray!”
The illustration of each bird is rendered in Lucy Cousins’ signature style: bold back outlines and richly-dense colors. The colorful birds fly, sing, catch flies and take care of babies against sunshine yellow, ripe orange, fresh green and deep blue backgrounds.
The clever end papers will also fascinate youngsters. On the front end paper all the birds are awake except the owl and on the back end paper all the birds are asleep except the owl.
HOORAY FOR BIRDS! written and illustrated by Lucy Cousins is a treasure trove of birds of all kinds, lively colors, movement and sounds for children 2-5 years of age (Candlewick Press, 2017).
Questions for HOORAY FOR BIRDS!
Look at the end paper in the front of the book and do some birdwatching! Can you find a baby swan? Where is the ostrich and what is he doing? Can you find the baby parrot? Where is the owl and why is he sleeping? What two birds do you usually find in a barnyard? How many purple starlings can you find? Count them.
The pictures in this book show birds moving in all sorts of ways. HOP about the room like a robin. WADDLE like the baby penguin. Let your arms be your wings and STRETCH out your wings like the huge eagle. SWOOP high and low and round and round in a circle like the starlings. STAND on one foot like the pink stork. This is hard to do. You might have to try this several times. TAKE A DEEP BREATH, raise your head, open your mouth and wake up the family with a loud cock a doddle do!
Go outside and listen to the birds. What do you hear? Can you copy one of the bird’s song? Try it. Parents and grandparents can go online and find a site that offers songs from a variety of birds. Listen. Everyone can try one out. Have fun!
