A bird learns self-acceptance in this tale with a concealed environmental message.Benjamin, a blue-footed booby, loves to go treasure hunting on his beach. He tugs a long, red "string-stretch-it" (an elastic band) out of the sand, and a round "hmmm…a…hole-thing-um" (a silicon wristband) is a delightful find. But when he finds a shiny "twink-um-doodle" (a mirror), he declares that to be the best treasure of all. He can see himself reflected for the first time! Unfortunately, he doesn't like what he sees. His beak is too long, his wings are too wide, and his feet are too blue. Benjamin decides to use his treasures to change how he looks. He squeezes into the "hole-thing-um," ties the "string-stretch-its" around his feet, and fastens other treasures all around. But now, he can hardly move. Luckily, he breaks free and becomes thankful for his original features. Macartney never explicitly mentions the word "trash," but it is clear to eagle-eyed observers what Benjamin's "treasures" really are. Benjamin's quirky names for all of the items he finds add levity, but many other creatures on the island have heavy-lidded stares, making them look sleepy or ill (except when they are laughing at Benjamin).Water-pollution discussion requires an extra step beyond the reading, but this a good place to start. (Picture book. 3-7)

PreS-Gr 1 Benjamin, a blue-footed booby, enjoys his life collecting and naming beach trash, until the day he finds a cracked mirror hidden in the sand. Looking at his reflection for the first time, Benjamin becomes embarrassed by his long beak, wide wings, and blue feet (which he could surely see without the aid of a mirror). In desperation, he attempts to use his garbage treasures to hide his features, but these nonsensical efforts are not funny enough to provoke laughs nor grave enough to convey real sadness. Swaddled in unidentifiable rubbish, Benjamin quickly discovers that his modifications mean he can't swim, fish, or fly with his booby friendsand he comes to appreciate why he looks the way he does. The digital illustrations never quite capture the textured charm of a real blue-footed booby or the biological variety of the Galapagos Islands. Recurring rhymes and consonance inject some energy into the text, but readers have seen such simplistic paeans to self-acceptance before. VERDICT This well-intentioned tale of discovering self-worth does not stand out from the crowd. Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Lib., NY