A DREAM OF BIRDS

Making a rash but worthy choice, a child frees a neighbor’s caged flock of tropical birds.

When young Sara sees that the strange little wire house she passes on her way to school has been filled with noisy parakeets, she remembers how cardinals, cape canaries, and turtledoves used to gather in her grandpa’s yard every afternoon to chirp and coo—and snatch at the handful of rice he would throw in the air at 4:00 each afternoon. The next day, she opens the cage and accepts the ensuing punishment from her parents…who tell her, worrisomely, that birds not used to being free might not be able to fend for themselves. That night, though, she dreams of flocks of brown and lesser noddies, terns, and other birds flying free in the nature preserve on nearby Cocos Island and is reassured: “All will be well, as long as the world has wings to dream.” Some of the act’s consequences are a bit glossed over, but its profound rewards are clear. Patel sets her tale on her native island of Mauritius (where it was originally published, in French), and for her illustrations Tchoukriel not only depicts settings and the dark-skinned residents, but also the many birds in careful, exact detail. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A soaring promise that having the courage to act on one’s dreams is all that really matters.