Coming Home

A plucky, determined robin travels home for Christmas to meet his mate in this charming picture book. Feeling the pull of a mysterious force, the bird swoops and darts, soaring onward and upward, on a long journey to leave the cruel snows and make it safely home where his mate is waiting. Gorgeous digitally composed illustrations vary in tone and color to reflect the various areas the robin must fly through. Over land and water, escaping danger, sometimes flying in a flock but often alone, helped along the way by a kindly sailor, the little robin is finally with the one he loves. While this is primarily a gentle story to read aloud, it is also a heartwarming holiday tale and readers will learn a bit about birds along the way.

Prefatory facts refer to the bird as a Scandinavian robin, although I don't find that there is a species with that specific name. European robins (Erithacus rubecula) are found from Siberia to Algeria and the Azores and robins from Scandinavia migrate to Great Britain and Western Europe to escape the cold winters. The same fact section explains that robins use the stars to navigate and fly up to a 1,000 feet above sea level. In contrast to American robins, which are heralded as a sign of Spring, in Britain the European robin is most associated with Christmas as they begin looking for a mate in mid-December and have, hopefully, found one by mid-January.


My only quibble with the illustrations is that there is no discernible difference shown between the male robin and his mate. The female's coloring should be muted, almost washed out, in comparison to the deep, rich colors of the male. I think it would also be helpful to have a map showing the bird's migration route.

American robin
(photo by J. Larson)

Although the term robin is used for both European robins, members of the Old World flycatcher family, and the American robin, which is a thrush, this story is clearly about a European robin.  While both birds have reddish-orange breasts, they are not related. The European robin's breast is so distinctive that it is also called robin redbreast.

The author, Michael Morpurgo, is best known for his book, War Horse, which was also made into a major motion picture. Illustrator, Kerry Hyndman, is a London-based illustrator and map-maker. Coming Home is her first children's picture book.

Little Home Bird

It's been awhile since I posted anything. In fact, it was during the autumnal migration. So I guess this, the time of spring migration, is a good time to talk about Little Home Bird.

This picture book by Jo Empson is both an endearing story about migration but also a good book about moving, a potentially upsetting experience for any child. Little bird, first see in his comfortable nest, loves everything about where he lives. But as the winds begin to blow colder and the leaves are falling, Little Bird's big brother starts to talk about flying south for the winter. Little Bird is concerned because he doesn't want to leave his favorite things behind. As the birds gather for their long journey, Little Bird follows, taking all of his possessions with him. Along the way he has to lighten his load, much to the delight of dog who gets LB's favorite branch, porcupine gets his favorite food, and other people and animals benefit from what Little Bird no longer can carry. Eventually the birds reach their destination and Little Bird discovered new favorite things. And it feels like home to him. Although the bird species is never identified, a final note briefly explains migration and a map shows the migration from the United Kingdom to the west coast of Africa.

While there is not a lot of information about migration, the general idea is covered in a way that will appeal to young children and can reassure them if they are facing a move. The illustrations are soft and show a lot of interesting textures related to birds.

Bird Humor

Birders tend to be either very serious folks or fun-loving silly people. After all, we spend a lot of time chasing after elusive little critters. It helps to have a sense of humor.

Fall migration is underway, and Jim and I took a 2 week vacation to Canada and New England (Talk about needing a sense of humor; I went expecting to see a lot of birds....but that is another post) so I haven't been writing.

Maybe it's me but I've started seeing a lot more bird and birding humor in comic strips. So quick post....thanks to Mutts!