The Go-Away bird is prickly, proud and dismissive. She
thinks she needs no one. When the gentle green Chit-Chat bird approaches her with
friendship and warm conversation in mind, it is thought to be too chatty, and
is told to go away!
Then the sweet red Peck-Peck bird wants to share
its plenty of plump juicy red berries. She insults it by saying your eyes
are too beady, and that it is greedy, so it must go away!
The beautiful blue Flip-Flap bird wants to whirl
and fly high into the sky with the Go-Away bird. But for the third time, a
would-be friend is chased away.
When the Go-Away bird is alone with its pride, the
giant brown Get-You bird approaches. She tries its clever words on the predator
to no effect. Then the yellow Come-Back bird appears; fearless and loud,
quacking to the others to come back! Come back!
Will those that the Go-Away bird sent away, return
to save the haughty bird that could have been a friend?
This is a delightful story about the value of
friends especially in times of need. Julia
Donaldson’s clever use of repetition and assonance, adds rhythm to the rhyming
verse. It is beautifully illustrated in bold watercolour and pen by the winner
of the CILIP Kate Greenway Medal, Catherine Rayne, who breathes life into Donaldson’s
outstanding characters.
Stunning end pages in variegated greens with
splashes of red and yellow introduce and close the book. The gorgeous covers
show the stubborn Go-Away bird on the front, and her unlikely heroes in full
colour, gathered together on the back.
The Go-Away bird is a real bird found in Africa.
More can be found about her on the Internet for those who are interested.
Title:
The Go-Away Bird
Author:
Julia Donaldson
Illustrator:
Catherine Rayner
Publisher: MacMillan Children’s Books, $24.99
Publication
Date: 26 February 2019
Format:
Hardcover
ISBN:
9781509843589
For
ages: 3+
Type:
Picture Book
