Naked Trevor

This delightful picturebook makes readers privy to a well-kept secret – all birds are naked, but cover this each day with feathered clothes appropriate for different species. But Naked Trevor rebels at this; he doesn’t want to wear any outfit, especially not that of a sparrow, the choice of his parents and many relatives, all of whom we see perched on the family tree. Trevor goes in search of his own outfits, but being young and so far, poor at flight, his crash-landings ensure that he acquires a coating of mud to which leaves and flowers adhere. This convinces him he’ll have to start wearing a feather costume, but so impressed are all the other birds at his startling plumage that by acclaim, they agree he should keep his wonderful costume and cast off their own traditional coverings to rejoice in being naked.

The colours are appropriately bright – except for the sparrows , emphasising Trevor’s reluctance to join the flock. Fold-outs on a couple of pages intensify the surprises of his attire, and the text gracefully leads readers from page to page as Trevor’s story unfolds. The underlying message about being different is nicely concealed under the covering of an entertaining story with an attractive hero.