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Ten Birds (2011)

by Cybèle Young(Favorite Author)

3.69 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

1554535689 (ISBN13: 9781554539246)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Kids Can Press

review 1: Ten birds come to a river and must figure out a way to cross. Each amazing bird comes up with an ingenious idea leaving one less bird behind. Until finally, the last bird, labeled "needs improvement" simply walks across the bridge.This book has abstract concepts. It is advertized for grades 1 and up which is appropriate. However it is a counting book and 1st graders know their numbers so then the book becomes about ingenuity and finally the message that good enough is often the best solution.The drawings are absolutely beautiful and finely detailed. The author introduces new words like engineer, launching, devised, drifting, and flapping.As a former teacher I had a hard time with the concept of labeling the birds as "outstanding", "highly satisfactory" and "exceptiona... morel" until finally reaching "needs improvement". I felt bad for the little bird labeled needs improvement and I felt that the other birds were being mocked for their ingenuity. Labeling children, I mean birds, is never a good idea. And the concept is written in such an abstract way that I don't know if children will understand exactly what the author was trying to say about labeling.
review 2: Ten birds are brainstorming how to get to the other side of a river. One by one they come up with innovative ideas such as building stilts, creating a balloon lift, and catapulting across. The very last bird, the one they call “needs improvement”, comes up with the most obvious answer. I liked the illustrations but found them a bit too gothic for children to enjoy. It has a cryptic feeling that doesn’t really fit with a book about counting. I wish that Young used another animal for this story because the whole time I was thinking “why don’t the birds just fly over the river?” The very last panel even shows the birds flying back across it! I also wish that Young didn’t show the bridge in the first few pages because again it made me think “at least cross the bridge if you don’t want to fly!” and yes that was the most obvious answer. It does have a good rhythm for a read aloud, but I just didn’t enjoy it. less

Download links for: Ten Birds

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