My Dad's a Birdman

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Description
Join a young girl and her dad as they find their wings and take to the skies in a joyful, quirky, tender tale from a masterful author and illustrator.
In a rainy town in the north of England, there are strange goings-on. Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Contest barker Mr. Poop is parading the streets shouting louder and louder, and even Mr. Mint, the headmaster, is not quite himself. And watching it all is Lizzie, missing her mam and looking after Dad by letting him follow his newfound whimsy. From an inspired creative pairing comes a story of the Great Human Bird Competition -- a poignant, exuberant tale of the healing power of flights of fancy, and a very special father-and-daughter bond.

Reviews

Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.

School Library Journal (05/01/2008)
Gr 1-4-A distinguished author's use of birds and human flight as metaphors for love's transcendence over grief and death takes a new form in this comic piece of magical realism. Lizzie and her widowed dad live in a city along the river Tyne in the north of England. From the first page it is clear that Lizzie is playing parent to her father's irresponsible child. Both are reacting to the recent death of Lizzie's mother. While the girl works hard at school, Dad remains in his room, unshaven and undressed. Finding purpose in the recently announced Great Human Bird Competition ("the first one to fly over the river Tyne wins a thousand pounds"), he secretly constructs a pair of wings from bird feathers and starts to consume bugs and worms. Sensible Auntie Doreen, as solid as her dumplings, calls him "daft." But when she tries to take Lizzie away from him, the child does her realistic best to make her father's dreams come true. Handsomely produced, the book is printed in varying size typefaces and enhanced by Dunbar's pencil, watercolor, and collage illustrations interspersed throughout the text. Casual yet evocative, they perfectly interpret Almond's broadly sketched characters. A fine read-aloud.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams

ISBN: 9780763636678 | EAN: 9780763636678
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)  | Publication Date: February, 2008

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