The lyrics to the late Raposo’s beloved song, popularized on Sesame Street in the 1970s, form the basis for this picture-book interpretation from Lichtenheld (Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site), in which a small purple bird has difficulty finding its own song. The wordless opening pages show three birds in a nest; the first two chirp musical notes and fly off, but the third can’t muster a sound, its speech bubbles empty. Along comes a boy with a guitar, who strums as the lyrics to the song begin: “Sing,/ Sing a song./ Sing out loud,/ Sing out strong.” As the boy plays and sings, musical notes rise up and literally buoy the bird (and its nest), lifting them aloft until the bird is able to fly and sing for itself, and rejoin its companions. It’s an effective visual metaphor for the way that music can be a form of support. A CD recording of the song is included, as are English and Spanish lyrics and a note from Raposo’s son, Nick. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Agent: Amy Rennert, the Amy Rennert Agency. (May)
For young and old, the text recalls a theme of courage and self-acceptance with easy-to-follow imagery. Everyone will want to sing along.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“A picture-book celebration of a Sesame Street favorite.” —Booklist
“A loving tribute.” —Kirkus Reviews
“As the boy plays and sings, musical notes rise up and literally buoy the bird (and its nest), lifting them aloft until the bird is able to fly and sing for itself, and rejoin its companions. It's an effective visual metaphor for the way that music can be a form of support.” —Publishers Weekly
“The creator of Bridget's Beret offers here another appealing story featuring a plucky heroine. Applying a full-color palette to his watercolor, ink, and colored-pencil cartoons, Lichtenheld makes use of varying page space and panel techniques to add subtle details to his narrative.” —Booklist on Cloudette
“Hilarious. . . . A witty, well-shaped story . . . and a clever homage to many of the Great Artists and their works, from Leonardo to Warhol.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review on Bridget's Beret
“Lichtenheld's detailed and textured illustrations, rendered in wax oil pastels on vellum paper, perfectly complement the fun, rhyming text, cleverly personifying each truck with expressive eyes and amusing details.” —School Library Journal on Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
“A standout picture book.” —Booklist, starred review on Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
“Text and illustrations are intimately wedded in this fun, interactive read-aloud. The bold lines and bright colors in Lichtenheld's illustrations are a visually pleasing match for the bantering text.” —School Library Journal on Duck! Rabbit!
The simplest and arguably best Sesame Street song serves as text to an almost equally elemental storyline in which music serves as the wind beneath a little bird's wings. Lichtenheld opens with a set of wordless spreads. In a nest on a branch suspended in space against a pale wash of blue, a fledgling sees its two sibs sing a note and fly away. Noteless, sad and alone, the bird sits--until a lad with a guitar (and early Bob Dylan hair) saunters into view, takes a seat down below and unself-consciously ripples out notes. These shatter the nest and send the bird soaring to join its sibs in a buoyant chorus. Along with being strung out in short phrases to accompany the illustrations, the song's words are recapped at the end--both in English and in a partial Spanish translation--with all the "La-la-la-la-la"s added. The book closes with an image of the original manuscript with a note from the composer's son. (A musical arrangement is absent, but it's probably superfluous anyway, so well-known is this song.) Boy and birds alike sing with infectious joy in this loving tribute, and the 3-song CD that comes with it is a nifty bonus. (Picture book. 3-5)