CATCHING FLIGHT

An up-close treat for bird-watchers that also contains a message about resilience.

Gorgeous illustrations of birds, mostly in flight, capture readers right from the front endpaper, which features a feather across the bottom of the page, birds of all sizes and types flying up from its depths in whimsical imagery. Lowell’s artwork stops just shy of being Audubon-realistic, the eyes of her birds connecting with readers. Most spreads feature a single bird species, all of them helpfully labeled: Eastern bluebird, Canada goose, northern saw-whet owl, northern cardinal, and bald eagle are among the 10 featured. But while the illustrations are the stars, the text will be a letdown, the language and ideas far beyond the reach of a typical picture-book audience: “Catch the current of a bird’s wing. / Dance with hope into open skies. // Your wings have found you / in a moment of wonder / and caught you by surprise.” The second half of the book attempts to inspire readers to trust in themselves and their flock, as “the sun always rises to fill your sky.” Backmatter includes a spread with a thumbnail picture and short paragraph of information about each bird species in the book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Beautiful bird images soar, but the text remains earthbound.