A HEAD FULL OF BIRDS

A young boy befriends a girl with “a head full of birds.”

At first, Noah does nothing to stop his classmates when they ridicule Nanette, who can stare for hours at a spider’s web and who “rocks back and forth, to and fro / fluttering her fingers like butterflies.” But when Noah goofs off in class, he is told to sit next to Nanette. Noah observes Nanette, and he sees the beauty in the way she interacts with the world, whether it’s setting colored paper boats afloat in the gutter or removing her boots to splash in the rain in the schoolyard. Noah and Nanette become friends who explore the worlds in their minds together. Translated from French, this third-person narrative has a straightforward quality. There are plenty of details but also ample space for readers to fill in their own. Soft colored-pencil illustrations use shading, composition, and primary colors to direct the eye and highlight Nanette, who seems to almost glow in her yellow rain slicker. Textual clues point to Nanette’s neurodiversity, although no specifics are named. Unfortunately, readers never get a sense of Nanette’s perspective; she feels less like a fully realized character and more like an inspirational catalyst for Noah’s character development—a choice that centers a neurotypical point of view. Both characters are light-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A visually appealing but ultimately one-sided friendship story.