You and the Bowerbird

★”Delightful, tongue in cheek, and compellingly romantic.”–Kirkus

★ “The cheerful, cheeky story is told through wonderful lilting text that employs full sentences, simple poetic phrases, and action descriptions woven right into the illustrations (birds ruffle, fluff, and dart). … A supremely entertaining introduction to an irrepressible animal.” —Booklist

★ “As playful as it is informative, this simplified graphical narrative combines the labeled sketches of a child’s field journal with mildly slapstick incidents in the life of an Australian satin bowerbird. … Comical cartoons and an enthusiastic documentary voice make for a splendid and informative read-aloud.”–Publisher’s Weekly

★”A lovely amalgam of science and play; with careful maps of the action, this makes the world of birding thrilling while delivering a very happy ending.”–School Library Journal

★”Perched in a treehouse on the border of an Australian rainforest, a young child (“you”) keeps a journal chronicling the activities of a busy male satin bowerbird. The child first observes this royal blue DIYer constructing a bower (dubbed by Gianferrari as his ‘bachelor pad’). Like all bowerbirds, he painstakingly erects a two-walled arch of sticks leading into the space; he then decorates it with found objects (feathers, straws, and the like—all blue, this bowerbird species’ signature color) to attract females. … An author’s note expands the text with particularly accessible explanations, including both print and internet resources for further inquiry. The curious child provides readers with a literary avatar, allowing them an immediacy in observing the actions of this fascinating bird. Bright, digitally colored illustrations with black outlines depict the action, offering visual confirmation for the author’s textual comparisons in nature to common household items. In one case, the bird decorates with a ‘welcome mat,’ clearly shown to be a blue feather. Gianferrari (Fungi Grow, rev. 9/23) puts out her own welcome mat for young naturalists.”–The Horn Book