Shy

by Deborah Freedman

Overview

A dazzlingly beautiful book about shyness from the author of Blue Chicken, The Story of Fish and Snail, and By Mouse and Frog!

Shy loves birds. He'd love to watch them fly and hear them sing, but he's only ever read about them in books. . .until a real bird comes along.  He's dying to meet her, but there's just one problem:  Shy is, well, shy--so shy, in fact, that he's afraid to leave the gutter of the book.  Can Shy overcome his fears and venture out onto the page?  This sweetly relatable picture book from the acclaimed Deborah Freedman speaks to every child who's ever felt like hiding instead of facing the daunting world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698192546
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	695,181
File size:	108 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Deborah Freedman was shy as a child. Now she is the sometimes shy, sometimes brave author of several picture books for children, including By Mouse and Frog, The Story of Fish and Snail, Blue Chicken, and Scribble. She lives in a quiet house in Connecticut, where she happily read and draws and listens to birds sing. You can learn more about Deborah at deborahfreedman.net.

Editorial Reviews

07/04/2016
Shy is an awkward, bookish giraffe whose thrilling encounter with a real bird compels him to leave his confined existence to find her. “Treep treep troo-lee!” cries the yellow bird, and Shy is smitten. He’s never heard birdsong before (“None of his books could sing”), and to find her he must go where he’s never gone before. Shy is so shy that readers don’t see him at all until well into the story. When Freedman (By Mouse and Frog) writes, “Shy was happiest between the pages of a book,” it’s a pun; an arrow points to the book’s gutter, where Shy is hiding. Only when he starts to search does he step out onto the page and become visible. When at last Shy and the bird meet, he can use the line the story has been heading for: “Shy whispered, ‘I’m shy.’ ” Florence (the bird) loves Shy’s books, it turns out, and the two head for happily ever after. Freedman gently suggests that love can push us to be braver than we’ve ever been. Ages 3–5. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Raves for Shy:

* "An exquisite treasure for bashful readers, animal lovers, and anyone who's ever wanted a friend."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "This tender story about overcoming one's shyness and making friends has the most delicate illustrations [which will] draw the reader in and make one want to visit Shy the giraffe and Florence the bird every night before bed."—School Library Connection, starred review

"New friends, whether shy or not, will enjoy watching this friendship blossom."—The Horn Book

"Freedman gently suggests that love can push us to be braver than we’ve ever been."—Publishers Weekly

"This warm, gentle meditation on overcoming fears and making new friends is suitable for a cozy read-aloud and quiet one-on-one enjoyment."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2016
K-Gr 2—In this serene, unassuming story, readers meet Shy, a giraffe who is happiest—both figuratively and literally—"between the pages of a book." Shy, unseen for a large portion of the tale and unidentified until its close, is exceedingly bashful and prefers to experience the world by reading. In particular, he loves books about birds, and when he encounters a beautiful songbird, he makes the brave decision to follow her. Shy's journey takes him across wondrous landscapes and introduces him to other remarkable animals, but just as he summons the courage to speak to her, she is gone, and Shy returns home, heartbroken. When the songbird reappears, Shy, in a satisfying moment of daring, calls out to her (thus identifying himself to readers as well), and the two begin a sweet friendship. The spare text works in lovely concert with the soft, muted illustrations. Composed using pencil, watercolor, and bits of colored pencil, they evoke a sense of joy and wonder. As the book opens, the images are saturated with warm tones of orange and gold, hinting at Shy's identity, and bursts of soft blue and yellow accompany the songbird's introduction. Freedman expertly shifts the color palette to express Shy's emotions and moods. In moments of bravery, exploration, and friendship, the colors brighten; when Shy struggles with his feelings of timidity, the orange tones once again seep into the pages. The subtle beauty of the art invites multiple readings. VERDICT This warm, gentle meditation on overcoming fears and making new friends is suitable for a cozy read-aloud and quiet one-on-one enjoyment.—Lauren Strohecker, McKinley Elementary School, Elkins Park, PA

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-28
Someone extremely shy finds a friend.Shy (his name as well as his defining characteristic) is happiest “between the pages of a book.” This is both metaphorical—he’s happiest when reading his stack of bird books—and literal: Shy isn’t depicted on the page, and a thin arrow indicates he’s hiding in the spine of Freedman’s book. The illustrations show tiny rocks, bits of grass, faint airborne bubbles and musical notes—and a small yellow bird who perches on the stack of books, capturing Shy’s whole heart with her song. He’s too bashful to reveal himself, but when she departs, he follows. Only his footsteps can be seen. Shy journeys across landscapes to the ocean, seeing animals—walrus, elephant, aardvark, hippo, whale—and, finally, his bird. Again, he can’t speak. She disappears; he heads home, heartbroken. But she flies by, and this time, Shy emerges from the book’s spine to greet her—musically. This is the first time readers see who he is, though in hindsight, they’ll realize he may have appeared earlier. Freedman’s fine pencil lines, graceful animals, superb compositions, and spare text are virtuosic, but the backgrounds are the soul of Shy’s tale: breathtaking watercolor washes blend hues softly from one section of the natural color spectrum to another, opaquely connoting desert, mountains, skies, dawn, and night. An exquisite treasure for bashful readers, animal lovers, and anyone who’s ever wanted a friend. (Picture book. 3-7, adult)

Kirkus Reviews