A Little Birdie Told Me

Taking the popular formula of repetition and memory games, Tarsila Krüse has lots of fun in this bright, appealing picture book. A string of little birdies – a robin, a blue tit, a house martin – all repeat and add to the sentence: ‘A little birdie told me … that someone very special … is coming to the surprise birthday party’. It builds the anticipation beautifully and no wonder the birds, who by now include blackbirds and starlings, magpies and more, get very excited asking questions about this special person who loves cake who is coming to the spectacular surprise birthday party. More excitement is guaranteed when we finally discover who this special person is. It’s a simple but effective piece of anticipatory storytelling and full of added treats and extras. There are colourful items such as party hats or sparkling wands to count on every spread for example, while these singing, dancing birds are beautifully depicted, stylised but distinct and clearly identifiable as real birds. Their interactions with each other are lively and engaging throughout, these little birdies are real characters.