Un pájaro en casa

March 15, 2021
Preschool-Grade 2 Walking outdoors in winter, a little girl and her abuela find an injured bird and carry it home. Abuela cares for the yellow bird during its recovery. While healing, it lives in a cage, but sometimes Abuela lets it fly around her living room. Her granddaughter is charmed, saying, "It was fantastic. But everything was always fantastic at Abuela's house." Her grandmother opens the window after the bird recovers, and it flies away. In the spring, the bird returns, and, though the child would like to keep it, her abuela explains, "It doesn't belong to us, but it can visit anytime." The concise, well-worded text sets the tone and tells the story, while leaving plenty of space for the expressive digital illustrations to work their magic. Viewers can feel the chill in the winter-walk scenes and the brightness when spring arrives, but the warmth between the child and her grandmother is evident throughout the book. A promising debut for G�mez, a Spanish artist, as a writer as well as illustrator of picture books.

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Starred review from June 14, 2021
A loving intergenerational relationship between a light brown–skinned narrator and their abuela is the heartening center of this tender narrative by author-illustrator Gómez. When the pair find an injured yellow bird in the winter, they nurse it back to health, keeping it indoors in a domed cage as it heals, and then release it into the city skies. But a special guest awaits in the spring—as does a surprise that Abuela has built just for the occasion. Abuela’s gentle wisdom takes center stage (“You are cured now, little bird, you have to fly free”) amid spare prose (“Snow melted into spring”). Detailed, richly colored paper collage and digital illustrations highlight appealing paper textures, lending dimension to domestic spreads featuring dot-eyed humans. A refreshing ending imparts a message of the significance of natural preservation and respecting animals’ agency. Ages 4–8.

July 1, 2021
A child and her abuela are walking in the snow when they discover an injured bird. They bring the bird home, and Abuela nurses it back to health. The bird has a cage, but Abuela lets it fly through the apartment as it recovers, to the child's (and the reader's) delight. When the creature is healed, Abuela sends it off to fly free, and it disappears into the clouds above the city. In the spring, the bird returns; the child wants to keep it, but Abuela says it should remain free but is welcome to visit whenever it wants. Spare, simple, first-person text, narrated from the child's point of view, leaves room for the sweet, collage-like illustrations to pull readers' attention into the story and hold them in this magical space. The illustrations exude the warmth and coziness of a dear relationship between a young child and loving caregiver, and this cherished relationship is enhanced by the new friend they make together. A combination of neutral and bright colors in the art creates eye-catching layers, while the straight lines of rooms and buildings balance the rounded shapes of the characters. The small yellow bird brightens up their apartment in the city, and Abuela's gentle lessons through her actions and words are easily inferred. Published concurrently in Spanish as Un pajaro en casa. Autumn Allen

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from March 15, 2021
A little yellow bird is grounded in the snow with a broken leg when a child and their abuela rescue it. Cupping it gently in her hands, Abuela takes the bird home and sets its leg while her grandchild eagerly looks on. Settling the bird in a domed cage, they both care for it until, soon, the bird is flying around the house--to the child's delight and the cat's frustration. The day comes to release the healed bird, and the child waves it on its way as it flies over the city. But one spring day a familiar sight greets them--their winged friend has returned. Although the child yearns to keep it, Abuela soothingly reminds her grandchild that the bird belongs to itself and has the right to fly free. But Abuela constructs a sturdy birdhouse from a blueprint and mounts it beside the balcony door--an implicit invitation for future visits. Spanish author/illustrator G�mez's semiautobiographical tribute to her own abuela is a charming window into an idyllic childhood infused with love for all living things. The simple, flowing first-person narrative flits from page to page in a gentle lilting commentary on harmony and respect. G�mez's carefully constructed images, from the well-tended profusion of plants to the child-sized chair and mouse toy, are whimsically detailed and subtly compelling. Both child and Abuela have light-brown skin. A Spanish-language edition, Un p�jaro en casa, publishes simultaneously. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.) This little gem elicits a sense of deep-seated comfort and refuge for these uncertain times. (Picture book. 4-7)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2021
A child and her abuela are walking in the snow when they discover an injured bird. They bring the bird home, and Abuela nurses it back to health. The bird has a cage, but Abuela lets it fly through the apartment as it recovers, to the child's (and the reader's) delight. When the creature is healed, Abuela sends it off to fly free, and it disappears into the clouds above the city. In the spring, the bird returns; the child wants to keep it, but Abuela says it should remain free but is welcome to visit whenever it wants. Spare, simple, first-person text, narrated from the child's point of view, leaves room for the sweet, collage-like illustrations to pull readers' attention into the story and hold them in this magical space. The illustrations exude the warmth and coziness of a dear relationship between a young child and loving caregiver, and this cherished relationship is enhanced by the new friend they make together. A combination of neutral and bright colors in the art creates eye-catching layers, while the straight lines of rooms and buildings balance the rounded shapes of the characters. The small yellow bird brightens up their apartment in the city, and Abuela's gentle lessons through her actions and words are easily inferred. Published concurrently in Spanish as Un pajaro en casa.

(Copyright 2021 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)