Lonely Bird's Dream by Ruth Whiting
Published by Candlewick Press on 2024
ISBN: 153622619X
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General
Format: Picture Book Fiction
Source: MSL Book Review
Goodreads

Lonely Bird’s dream is to fly.  Yet, Lonely Bird is a hand sketched, nearly wingless, paper bird.  Through research, imagination, experimentation, and trial and error, she creates a usable airplane.  Her dream of flight is a success, but landing is not.  After her flight is unpredictably cut short, she gets some help from a very clever spider who helps her find a way back home in flight using dandelion seeds, riding the wind. 

This is Whiting’s follow up to her book Lonely Bird.  The story is so well told through the artwork, that the simplistic prose is almost unnecessary.  Her amazing artistry is on display with layered paintings that make the eye believe the 2D Lonely Bird is living her best life in a 3D miniature world.  This book will appeal to ages four through nine.  

Reviewed by Heidi Kopishke, Camden Hills Regional High School, Rockport, ME.