The Birdman

The Birdman

By Carol-Ann Hoyte

A review of The Birdman by Veronica Martenova Charles

Published on September 1, 2006

The Birdman
Veronica Martenova Charles

Tundra
$22.99
cloth
0-88776-740-0

In Birdman, Veronica Martenova Charles tells the true story of a Calcutta tailor named Noor Nobi. Noor falls into deep despair when he loses his three children in an accident. He finally emerges from his grief when he starts buying sick, caged birds, nursing them back to health, and freeing them in the wild. Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle’s gouache illustrations, clearly inspired by Indian folk art, are bright and intricately detailed. Colour photographs of the real Noor Nobi and his new family are included. The author’s rendering of this remarkable and inspirational story should generate discussion with young readers, and would be a great addition to school and children’s libraries. mRb

Carol-Ann Hoyte is the Quebec English-language regional coordinator for TD Canadian Children's Book Week and organizer of monthly mixers for Montreal anglophone children's book authors and illustrators.

Comments

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

More Reviews

In the Land of the Postscript

In the Land of the Postscript

Chava Rosenfarb's collection provides an important portrait of survivors’ lives in the immediate postwar years.

By Norman Ravvin

We Have Never Lived on Earth

We Have Never Lived on Earth

The small, precisely rendered moments are what make Kasia Von Schaik's stories resonant, familiar, and refreshing.

By Danielle Barkley

New Songs for Orpheus

New Songs for Orpheus

John Reibetanz’s poetry collection rewrites Ovid’s Metamorphosis with a distinct ecological sensibility.

By Salena Wiener