Ten Birds

by Cybèle Young

Overview

A clever counting book and fable unlike any other and winner of the 2011 Governor General's Award for Illustration. Ten birds are trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the river. The bird they call “Brilliant” devises a pair of stilts. The bird they call “Highly Satisfactory” engineers a raft. One by one, nine resourceful birds make the crossing until a single bird is left behind – the one they call “Needs Improvement.” This bird’s solution proves surprising – and absurdly simple. More than a counting book, Ten Birds is a witty story that highlights ingenuity, common sense and the inadequacies of labels. Cybèle Young’s intricate chiaroscuro pen-and-ink drawings depict a rich alternative world that both children and adults will marvel over.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781554539246
Publisher:	Kids Can Press
Publication date:	03/01/2011
Series:	Ten Birds
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	440L (what's this?)
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Cybèle Young is an internationally renowned artist, represented by galleries in New York, London, Vancouver and Calgary. Her art practice and family life have also inspired the creation of several children's books. She was nominated for a Governor General's Award for Illustration in 2000, and has written and illustrated two titles (Ten Birds, Kids Can Press, and A Few Blocks, Groundwood Books).

Editorial Reviews

Ten black birds appear on a winter night on a snowy riverbank; they are "trying to figure out how to get to the other side of the river." There's a bridge in plain view, but they appear not to see it. Nine birds use the fantastic arrangements of wood, string, hardware, pulleys, and fans standing on the riverbank to cross the river. The contraptions are shaped like the numbers one through 10; each bird reassembles its contraption into something new. One turns the wooden number "9" into a pair of stilts: "The one they called ‘Brilliant' knew how to cross. Marching, he left NINE behind." The next uses the 8-shaped pair of wheels to build a water-paddled unicycle: "The one they called ‘Quite Advanced' engineered her way." Only the last bird does the obvious thing and plods across the bridge; ironically, his name is "Needs Improvement." Young's (Jack Pine) meticulously drafted pen-and-ink artwork, reminiscent of M.C. Escher, grabs most of the attention, while the message about the clearest solution being the best one is somewhat blunted by the wonderfully creative and complex alternatives she invents. All ages. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3—This book's pen-and-ink landscapes with hidden numbers recall Arthur Geisert's etchings in Pigs from 1 to 10 (Houghton, 1992). While Young's scenes are simpler, the mood created by the cream and black palette is similar, and both artists are preoccupied with contraptions and camouflage. Here, the opening spreads are wordless. From a vantage point behind 10 plump, black birds, viewers watch as the creatures proceed across a wide expanse toward a river and bridge visible below the high horizon line. Their destination is to a collection of odd assemblages made of wheels, kite string, an electric fan, and other items. The apparently deliberate arrangement invites close scrutiny and the inkling that the groupings might spell something. The text initiates a countdown, descending from 10, as each bird chooses some mechanism to propel it across the river: "The one they called 'Brilliant' knew how to cross. Marching, he left NINE behind." When the wooden planks the bird fashioned into stilts are removed, the shape of numeral 9 remains—along with his 9 companions. So it goes as "Quite Advanced," "Highly Satisfactory," etc., cross. Finally "Needs Improvement" walks across the bridge, his footprints forming a zero. As they abandon their devices (creating new possibilities) and prepare to fly away, the birds glance back at the numbers. Why didn't they fly over? Is this a commentary on intelligence vs. creativity? A plot device to trip the numeric sequence? Young students will ponder such questions while gleaning inspiration for their own inventions.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library

School Library Journal