The Real Poop on Pigeons!: TOON Level 1

by Kevin McCloskey

Overview

Did you know a pigeon can fly faster than a car and farther than a small airplane? Or that they have something unusual in common with penguins, flamingos, and even the dodo? With his trademark mix of humor, well-researched facts, and artistry, Kevin McCloskey delivers the straight poop on these humble creatures, which turn out to be...coo, coo, COOL!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781935179931
Publisher:	TOON Books
Publication date:	04/19/2016
Series:	Giggle and Learn
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Kevin McCloskey, who teaches illustration at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania, learned about pigeons from Vinnie Torre, one of Hoboken's last pigeon racers. He dedicated this book to his children, even if his daughter is a little skittish on the subject since a flock of pigeons descended on the family during a visit to London's Trafalgar Square. He says he considered painting the pictures here on roofing material (because pigeons flock to roofs) but settled instead for painting on a pigeon-blue Fabriano paper, the kind used by Picasso.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/22/2016
McCloskey (We Dig Worms!) shifts focus to another oft-maligned animal, smoothly mixing naturalism with offbeat visual humor. When a bearded park visitor expresses his dislike for pigeons, a brigade of children dressed in pigeon costumes descend and proceed to explain why pigeons are wonderful. “Before airplanes, pigeon carried the first airmail!” notes one child, while others highlight that the birds fly faster than cars, mate for life, and have a number of showy breeds. Even Picasso—a renowned pigeon lover—makes an appearance. McCloskey’s enthusiasm for his subject is abundantly clear, and he nails the ending with a gag involving another urban standby: the squirrel. Ages 5–up. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Bank Street College of Education’s Best Children's Books of the Year 2017


Chicago Public Library’s "Best of the Best" 2016


Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2017: Science, Technology, and the Natural World


"Budding naturalists who dug We Dig Worms! will, well, coo over this similarly enlightening accolade . . . Another feather in McCloskey's cap." - Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW


". . . smoothly mixing naturalism with offbeat visual humor." - Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW


"Funny and informative, this attractive work of graphic nonfiction offers emerging comics readers an intriguing look at a commonly dismissed and ignored animal." - School Library Journal


"A playful and informative take on the ubiquitous, under-appreciated pigeon." - Booklist


"This paean to the worm is a winning combination of facts and gross-out fun." - New York Times



"Delivered with a sense of gusto and humor." - Comics Worth Reading


"This 36-page book for first readers teaches humorous and fascinating facts about those cooing birds that every child sees almost every day." - Fred Patten Reviews

From the Publisher

03/01/2016
Gr 2–5—McCloskey turns his eye from the ground (We Dig Worms!, Toon, 2015) toward the heavens, revealing the wonder—and even beauty—of the common city pigeon. A man shoos and poo-poos a couple of cooing "rats with wings," only to be confronted by a group of kids in pigeon costumes bearing interesting facts about the maligned birds. Through a series of panels and full spreads, readers learn that before the invention of airplanes, pigeons carried mail; that they are faster than a car; that they mate for life; and that they come in a wide variety of breeds, some of which are quite fancy, such as the Victoria Crowned, named for Queen Victoria. In a brief author's note, McCloskey explains that his painted, cartoon-style illustrations are done on pigeon blue Fabriano paper, the kind used by Pablo Picasso, an artist so enraptured by the birds that he named his daughter Paloma (the Spanish word for pigeon). Complementing the paintings are well-integrated reproductions of historic pigeon prints from the author's personal collection. Some facts are presented in a simple and straightforward manner ("When two pigeons make a family, that's called mating…. If a human picks the two pigeons to mate, that is called breeding."), while other tidbits, presented in speech bubbles, lend the title a more informal, humorous tone ("Picasso's dad kept pigeons…and young Pablo cleaned the poop in the coop."). VERDICT Funny and informative, this attractive work of graphic nonfiction offers emerging comics readers an intriguing look at a commonly dismissed and ignored animal.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

★ 2016-02-17
Budding naturalists who dug We Dig Worms! (2015) will, well, coo over this similarly enlightening accolade. A curmudgeonly park visitor's "They're RATS with wings!" sparks spirited rejoinders from a racially diverse flock of children wearing full-body bird outfits, who swoop down to deliver a mess of pigeon facts. Along with being related to the dodo, "rock doves" fly faster than a car, mate for life, have been crossbred into all sorts of "fancies," inspired Pablo Picasso to name his daughter "Paloma" in their honor, can be eaten ("Tastes like chicken"), and, like penguins and flamingos, create "pigeon milk" in their crops for their hatchlings. Painted on light blue art paper—"the kind," writes McCloskey in his afterword, "used by Picasso"—expertly depicted pigeons of diverse breeds common and fancy strut their stuff, with views of the children and other wild creatures, plus occasional helpful labels, interspersed. In the chastened parkgoer's eyes, as in those of the newly independent readers to whom this is aimed, the often maligned birds are "wonderful." Cue a fresh set of costumed children on the final page, gearing up to set him straight on squirrels. Another feather in McCloskey's cap. (Graphic informational early reader. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews