Starred Review ALA Booklist

Starred Review Throughout the day, as a boy and a girl walk in fields near their house, they see many birds and hear their distinctive calls. But a quiet bird captures the children's attention. Sitting in her nest in a tree, the robin is alert but silent. The next morning, the duo hears sounds from the nest, beginning with "tapping cracking" and ending with "breaking shaking." Three baby birds join the robin and her mate in the nest. The appended "A Word with the Bird" section, cleverly written as a Q&A with the robin, offers a short, highly readable account of life in the nest before and after the eggs hatch. Included is an explanation of why the nesting bird is quiet: "I don't want other animals to know I am hiding eggs. They might eat them!" The pleasing text is well constructed, with rhythm and rhyme altered in different types of stanzas, and distinctive birdsongs included in the verse. In his picture-book debut, Pak's collage-style artwork is distinctive, dynamic, and rewarding to look at again and again. Retro in style, the watercolor-and-digital-media illustrations make good use of varied perspectives, layouts, and lighting effects. A beautifully crafted, informative picture book.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Two children wander through the countryside listening to calls of common birds and wonder why the nesting robin alone does not make a sound. The calls of common birds—mourning dove, woodpecker, starling, sparrow, swallow, crow, cardinal, chickadee, catbird, blue jay, the onomatopoeic whippoorwill and wood thrush—are notated with pleasing accuracy, well enough to allow a child to identify them in nature, even as the children in the book encounter them. Finally, sounds of tapping, cracking and breaking shells emanate from the robin's nest. Cheeping and peeping are heard, and the long silence is broken by the newborn baby robins. The male robin's song is sweetly transcribed as "Cheerily, cheer up! My tree makes syrup! Syrup so sweet!" This charming and unusual nature story contributes something new to the overstuffed field of bird-related picture books. Gray's simple rhymes and accurate bird calls are attractively complemented by Pak's textured watercolor-resist illustrations in soft greens, browns and grays. Each bird is humorously but accurately depicted. A final "Word with the Bird" in Q-and-A format explains in detail why the robin is silent while hatching her eggs and answers many other useful questions, including the role of the father bird and what happens to the babies after they leave the nest. As welcome as the robin in springtime. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Horn Book

Backyard bird songs are highlighted in onomatopoetic ("chiddik, chiddik"; "caw! caw!") rhyming text. The star of the gently repetitive story, though, is the brooding robin. She makes no sound that might draw predators to her nest while incubating eggs. Spare illustrations depict various bird species, and two inquisitive children are observers throughout. Appended questions are addressed to the robin, who answers in the first person.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Two children wander through the countryside listening to calls of common birds and wonder why the nesting robin alone does not make a sound. The calls of common birds—mourning dove, woodpecker, starling, sparrow, swallow, crow, cardinal, chickadee, catbird, blue jay, the onomatopoeic whippoorwill and wood thrush—are notated with pleasing accuracy, well enough to allow a child to identify them in nature, even as the children in the book encounter them. Finally, sounds of tapping, cracking and breaking shells emanate from the robin's nest. Cheeping and peeping are heard, and the long silence is broken by the newborn baby robins. The male robin's song is sweetly transcribed as "Cheerily, cheer up! My tree makes syrup! Syrup so sweet!" This charming and unusual nature story contributes something new to the overstuffed field of bird-related picture books. Gray's simple rhymes and accurate bird calls are attractively complemented by Pak's textured watercolor-resist illustrations in soft greens, browns and grays. Each bird is humorously but accurately depicted. A final "Word with the Bird" in Q-and-A format explains in detail why the robin is silent while hatching her eggs and answers many other useful questions, including the role of the father bird and what happens to the babies after they leave the nest. As welcome as the robin in springtime. (Informational picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Layering delicate leaves and branches in green-browns, gold-greens, and touches of scarlet, newcomer Pak gives Gray-s (One Big Rain) story about nesting robins a quiet, measured dynamism. The restraint of the artwork dovetails nicely with the story-s themes: caretaking, which is what the nesting robin is doing, and observation, which is what a human boy and girl are doing. The two talk about the birds they see, some of which are voicing their characteristic calls (-Sparrow makes a simple jingle./ chiddik, chiddik/ Swallow slides from under a shingle./ ha-ha-chit-chit-chit-). One bird, though, is mysteriously silent. - -Not a single tweet or trill.-/ -This nesting bird is so still!- - The secret to the robin-s long stay on her nest is revealed as a dialogue between the sounds coming from the nest (-Tapping Cracking-) and the children-s observations (-The bird is starting to move around!-). It-s a fine first book about watching living beings in the wild, and it also serves as a beginning birders- guide, identifying the features and cries of common backyard birds. Ages 4-8. Author-s agent: Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Literary Agency. (Mar.)-

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3 A boy and girl on a neighborhood walk encounter many birds singing and calling. Short rhyming verses capture the essence of these backyard birds, e.g., "Cardinal wears a pointy hat. 'cheer-cheer-cheer-purdy-purdy-purdy'/Chickadee is an acrobat. 'chick-a-dee-dee-dee.'" The children wonder why the robin nesting in the tree next to their house is silent, until the day when cheeping, peeping follow the tapping, cracking sounds of the eggs hatching. Soft watercolor and collagelike digital art beautifully impart a springtime feeling to the spreads. Following the poem-story is a two-page mock "interview" with the mother bird, which serves as a useful explanation of nesting behaviors. This lovely introduction to common neighborhood birds also includes some less familiar varieties, such as the wood thrush and the whip-poor-will. Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA