Sleepy Bird

Written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Scholastic Press

978-1-338-15785-7

32 pp.

Ages 3-5

March 2018

It's late.  Why isn't Bird sleeping?!

From Sleepy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

Bird is not sleepy, or so he thinks.  He wants to play and party and seeks out each of his animal friends to keep him company.  Each one tells him it's bedtime and recommends a sleep aid like hugging a blankie (that from Fox), or reading a bedtime story (Beaver), snuggling with a stuffie (Rabbit), singing a lullaby (Raccoon) or counting sheep (obviously from Sheep).  But he poohpoohs their suggestions, storming off like he often does (remember, he was Grumpy Bird in his first book).

From Sleepy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

But, after a little while, he is reduced to tears and questioning empathically "WHY SHOULD I GO TO SLEEP?"  His friends, ever faithful, come running and support their dear friend with all the recommendations they'd made earlier, helping their feathered companion find a way to dreamland.

From Sleepy Bird by Jeremy Tankard

What parent doesn't know the child who will not go to sleep?  In fact, they will recognize the crankiness, protestations, and eventual winding down of a little one, and their own ploys used to help a child fall into slumber.  Undoubtedly they will also recognize some comments made by Bird's friends, especially "I thought he'd NEVER fall asleep," as proclaimed by Fox.  But it's Bird's responses that always have me laughing. (I think, Jeremy Tankard, there's a Funny Bird in your future.) Bird's replies to his friends, ever escalating in their intensity, include "Blankie shmankie", "Are you TRYING to give me nightmares?" and to Sheep's suggestion of counting sheep: "HOW CAN YOU GET SLEEPY COUNTING TO ONE?"

But, as clever as the text is and as pertinent as its theme, Sleepy Bird will grab readers and non-readers with its bold and colourful illustrations.  Jeremy Tankard's wacky characters are as familiar now as Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and Mo Willems's Elephant and Piggie and we love everything about them: their vibrant colours, coarse lines and clean shapes as well as their expressive poses and faces. What is more is that Jeremy Tankard's landscapes of splatterings of flowers, rocks, and trees amidst enormous ground-level stars and a moon provide a surreal contrast to a very commonplace story i.e., putting a reluctant child to bed.

So, the next time you have to help little ones find their way to rest, grab those blankies and stuffies and read Sleepy Bird.  I can't assure you that they'll go to sleep but you'll at least enjoy the attempt until they decide for themselves that sleep is best.

Hungry Bird

Written and illustrated by Jeremy Tankard

Scholastic 

978-0-545-86417-6

32 pp.

Ages 3-5

September 2016

Jeremy Tankard’s award-winning Bird is back in his third volume, after the successful Grumpy Bird (Scholastic, 2007) and Boo Hoo Bird (Scholastic, 2009), and this time the little blue guy with the attitude is hungry.  He and his friends–Fox, Beaver, Sheep, Raccoon and Rabbit–have gone off for a hike when Bird, who continues to look grumpy, suffers a grumbling stomach.

While his friends are well prepared for their hike, sporting backpacks some of which contain their favourite snacks, Bird is supply-less, though he is the first one to feel peckish.  Unfortunately,  instead of asking his friends politely if they might share a treat with him, he wants to know if they packed anything for him.  Worse yet, when each answers him, politely offering to share, Bird declines.  At first, he refuses with relative politeness, but, just as in Grumpy Bird and in Boo Hoo Bird, Bird’s responses become more impassioned, ranging from “Are you crazy?” and “YUCK! That sounds DISGUSTING!” to demanding food and shouting, “HOW ON EARTH CAN I EAT A CARROT?!”  At last, Bird’s pleas escalate till he is convinced he will starve to death –of course, he won’t–and crawls with weakness to his friends, finally agreeing to try their snacks.

From Hungry Bird by Jeremy Tankard

As egocentric as Bird is, he’s not unlike the very young children (and self-centered adults!) who see everyone as there to meet their demands and needs immediately.  Only when he’s desperate does Bird relent and recognize that his friends have always been there to help him and are more than willing to share.  The only impediment to having his needs met is the petulant Bird himself.

Jeremy Tankard’s animals are distinct, walking on two legs, and colourful in bold colours of blue, orange, gold, tangerine, red and white.  With distinctive features like large buck teeth and characteristic tails and ears, the six creatures are easily identifiable while still unlike any other animals ever created in illustrations.  These coarsely-outlined creatures, displayed in landscapes of generally single colours, always stand out, never lost in backgrounds of irrelevant details.  Hungry Bird, like its predecessors, is all about the characters, both in illustration and story, with subtle messages about responsibility, courtesy, sharing, and trying new things. Lots of life lessons for an ornery but lovable, little blue bird.

From Hungry Bird by Jeremy Tankard