Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)

Budding naturalists who dug We Dig Worms! (2015) will, well, coo over this similarly enlightening accolade. A curmudgeonly park visitor's "They're RATS with wings!" sparks spirited rejoinders from a racially diverse flock of children wearing full-body bird outfits, who swoop down to deliver a mess of pigeon facts. Along with being related to the dodo, "rock doves" fly faster than a car, mate for life, have been crossbred into all sorts of "fancies," inspired Pablo Picasso to name his daughter "Paloma" in their honor, can be eaten ("Tastes like chicken"), and, like penguins and flamingos, create "pigeon milk" in their crops for their hatchlings. Painted on light blue art paper—"the kind," writes McCloskey in his afterword, "used by Picasso"—expertly depicted pigeons of diverse breeds common and fancy strut their stuff, with views of the children and other wild creatures, plus occasional helpful labels, interspersed. In the chastened parkgoer's eyes, as in those of the newly independent readers to whom this is aimed, the often maligned birds are "wonderful." Cue a fresh set of costumed children on the final page, gearing up to set him straight on squirrels. Another feather in McCloskey's cap. (Graphic informational early reader. 5-7)

ALA Booklist (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)

Rats with wings? Get out of here with that talk. McCloskey (We Dig Worms!, 2015) enlists a squad of pigeon-costumed kids to put in a good word for the much-maligned bird. As a man on a park bench bemoans pigeons and their messes, the kids flock towards him, exclaiming, "There's more to pigeons than poop!" Is there ever. Whether racers, mail carriers, cliff dwellers, or beauty contestants, pigeons can do far more than pick through garbage. McCloskey's acrylic-and-gouache illustrations switch from park scenes to pigeon close-ups ranging from a labeled bird diagram to eye-catching breeds like the frillback, fantail, and show king. As a level-1 reader, the text consists of conversational, quick facts. Readers learn that pigeons are fantastic fliers, mate for life, feed their babies with "crop milk," and are even related to the dodo. They'll also discover that Picasso loved painting these birds, a fact reflected in McCloskey's use of pigeon-blue Fabriano paper such as Picasso used. A playful and informative take on the ubiquitous, under-appreciated pigeon.

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

Budding naturalists who dug We Dig Worms! (2015) will, well, coo over this similarly enlightening accolade. A curmudgeonly park visitor's "They're RATS with wings!" sparks spirited rejoinders from a racially diverse flock of children wearing full-body bird outfits, who swoop down to deliver a mess of pigeon facts. Along with being related to the dodo, "rock doves" fly faster than a car, mate for life, have been crossbred into all sorts of "fancies," inspired Pablo Picasso to name his daughter "Paloma" in their honor, can be eaten ("Tastes like chicken"), and, like penguins and flamingos, create "pigeon milk" in their crops for their hatchlings. Painted on light blue art paper—"the kind," writes McCloskey in his afterword, "used by Picasso"—expertly depicted pigeons of diverse breeds common and fancy strut their stuff, with views of the children and other wild creatures, plus occasional helpful labels, interspersed. In the chastened parkgoer's eyes, as in those of the newly independent readers to whom this is aimed, the often maligned birds are "wonderful." Cue a fresh set of costumed children on the final page, gearing up to set him straight on squirrels. Another feather in McCloskey's cap. (Graphic informational early reader. 5-7)

School Library Journal (Wed Nov 30 00:00:00 CST 2022)

Gr 2-5 McCloskey turns his eye from the ground ( We Dig Worms! , Toon, 2015) toward the heavens, revealing the wonderand even beautyof the common city pigeon. A man shoos and poo-poos a couple of cooing "rats with wings," only to be confronted by a group of kids in pigeon costumes bearing interesting facts about the maligned birds. Through a series of panels and full spreads, readers learn that before the invention of airplanes, pigeons carried mail; that they are faster than a car; that they mate for life; and that they come in a wide variety of breeds, some of which are quite fancy, such as the Victoria Crowned, named for Queen Victoria. In a brief author's note, McCloskey explains that his painted, cartoon-style illustrations are done on pigeon blue Fabriano paper, the kind used by Pablo Picasso, an artist so enraptured by the birds that he named his daughter Paloma (the Spanish word for pigeon). Complementing the paintings are well-integrated reproductions of historic pigeon prints from the author's personal collection. Some facts are presented in a simple and straightforward manner ("When two pigeons make a family, that's called mating&30;. If a human picks the two pigeons to mate, that is called breeding."), while other tidbits, presented in speech bubbles, lend the title a more informal, humorous tone ("Picasso's dad kept pigeons&30;and young Pablo cleaned the poop in the coop."). VERDICT Funny and informative, this attractive work of graphic nonfiction offers emerging comics readers an intriguing look at a commonly dismissed and ignored animal.— Kiera Parrott , School Library Journal