Hooray for Birds!

Bold electric colors flutter on each spread of this high-flying adventure that's perfect for young fans of Hooray for Fish! ... Rhyming text and bright illustrations make this a superb choice for storytime groups. --School Library Journal (starred review) If you've been sitting too long and too quietly through storytime, get off your perch and onto your webbed, clawed, or taloned feet and move...with the energy generated by this lively offering, don't expect naptime to arrive on cue. --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

...[T]he creatures in "Hooray for Birds!" (Candlewick, 40 pages, $15.99) all but vibrate with brilliant colors. In gouache paintings on bright backgrounds, Lucy Cousins, the creator of the popular "Maisy" books, depicts swans and starlings, guinea fowl and cardinals, and a resplendent peacock. With each picture comes an exhortation for 2- to 5-year-olds to throw themselves into avian imitations: "Waddle like a penguin in the snow / Run like an ostrich, go, go, go!" --The Wall Street Journal

An exuberant celebration of birds of all kinds...The cozy ending showing a baby parrot cuddling up close with Mama in his nest and the rear endpapers of sleeping birds are perfect for naptime. All in all, it's a great way to introduce bird behavior without lecturing--young children will feel like hopping, pecking, and soaring with these exuberant feathered friends. --Kirkus Reviews

Maisy creator Cousins uses her signature brand of punchy, thickly outlined gouache paintings to introduce an active menagerie of birds....a rousing pick for reading (and chirping) aloud. --Publishers Weekly

Twelve years after Hooray for Fish!, Cousins invites listeners to join in as part of the boisterous flock...The book's large size and format, along with the second-person narration and bold illustrations, create a natural opportunity for children to become a physical part of the story. --The Horn Book

Cousins' exquisite portrayals of our feathered friends will delight fledgling readers and listeners and have them flapping their wings for more. --Booklist Online

This sprightly picture book provides him and his cohorts with delightful introduction to the diversity and activity of these feathered friends. --San Francisco Chronicle

This book will hold the attention of even the smallest bird-watchers, whether at story time or just before settling into their cozy nests to sleep. --Washington Parent