Title: Wordy Birdy
Author: Tammi Sauer
Illustrator: Dave Mottram
Published: Doubleday, 2018

Have you ever noticed how much kids can talk? I have two relatively shy kids in public. Most people wonder if my youngest says more than three words at a time.
I can assure you, she does.
At home.
At home, the floodgates are open and the chatter begins at early-o-clock and continues until bedtime. (Well, until asleep time. They still talk during bedtime, and sometimes even as they’re falling asleep.)

I can relate to today’s story, is what I’m saying. It’s all about Wordy Birdy, a bird who enjoys hearing the sound of her own voice, but not really stopping to listen to other people (or, in this case, critters).

Wordy Birdy shares her thoughts on literally everything, from her preferences (spaghetti, unicorns) to her dislikes (tall grass, turtlenecks), to things she wonders about (zebras, Big Foot). Her friends confirm that yes, she’s a terrible listener.

And that’s how she finds herself in trouble as she enters a rather forbidding looking forest.

Her friends are trying to tell her not to go in, but does Wordy Birdy listen? Nope!

And that’s how she finds herself being chased by an angry bear. Fortunately, her friends do not abandon her in her time of need and Wordy Birdy is saved.

In the end, Wordy Birdy learns that while talking is fine (and she still really does love the sound of her own voice), listening is pretty great as well.

Here’s what I liked about the book:
1. The art. It’s really cute and feels almost like a Disney movie in book form. The characters are expressive and animated and I kept feeling like Wordy Birdy’s house was something out of Winnie-the-Pooh.
2. The speech bubbles. The animals were constantly giving their thoughts/opinions and the text was very funny. I like Raccoon’s withering “What do you think?”
3. The story is relatable. It’s so relatable. If you have a child under the age of 10, it’s exceptionally relatable. Kids talk a lot.

The ending was kind of obvious, but I’m not sure how else the story could’ve gone. I mean, Wordy Birdy kind of had to learn that ‘listening is a pretty good idea’ after almost being a bear’s lunch. So even though it was predictable, it worked.

The girls liked Wordy Birdy. The enjoyed the myriad voices I did for all the different characters. This really is a ‘performance piece’ kind of book. Get into it, parents! Bust out with your best squirrel voice. Don’t hold back on your squeaky-but-charming rabbit voice! Maybe the raccoon is British? Probably! Go with that!

Ahem.

You get the idea.

Mama’s Review: 8/10
Vivi’s Review: A
Lily’s Review: “So did the bird learn to listen or what? Did she keep talking? I wonder if she kept talking or if she decided to listen to her friends…”