Bluebird

by Bob Staake

Hardcover, 2013

Status

Available

Call number

741.5

Collection

Publication

Schwartz & Wade (2013), 40 pages

Description

A wordless picture book about the inspiring friendship that develops between a bluebird and a young boy.

User reviews

LibraryThing member melissarochelle
Wonderful illustrations -- a sweet (wordless) story about loneliness and friendship.
LibraryThing member andy_170279
A boy gets bullyed and made fun of at school. One a day a blue bird befriends the boy and follows him around everywhere until one day a group of bullies try to hurt the boy.
LibraryThing member paloma03
A book with no words but many deep meaning. What a wonderful and well done book to show friendship and the consequences of bullying. I was in point of tears and happiness at the same time. This book can show children that bullying is not a good behavior and that you can be a friends to anything you
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wish as long as you treat it nice. This book has no words but the meaning gets across clearly.
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LibraryThing member Phil9
Although this book had no words, it was engaging through its simple pictures.
LibraryThing member AmySueMiner
This is a wonderful picture book with no words. This story is about a boy who makes friends with a beautiful bluebird. The blue bird follows the boy. Unfortunately the blue bird dies and goes to heaven. This book can help children deal with bullying, making friends, and coping with death.

I would
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love to have this book in my classroom because it encourages imagination and creativity. This book would be a great addition to my shelves for children ages 3-7.
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LibraryThing member k.virgalitte
A beautiful story! I loved every page of this book. This book had truly inspiring colors and graphics and I enjoyed the shapes Mr. Staake used to create the images. This was truly an amazing book.
LibraryThing member Marinam77
The story is about a lonely boy, whose classmates are making fun of him. One day he becomes friends with a blue bird. The boy and the blue bird do a lot of things together until one day when the blue bird gets killed accidently by a bully. The boy is devastated; with the help of colorful birds he
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takes the blue bird to heaven. This book teaches children to always be nice to other kids and never bully them.
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LibraryThing member KelseyDavison
This darling illustration series tells the story of how a bluebird captivates a young boys colorless world. As the series progresses readers witness this blue bird finding this frowning young friend and his pursuit to follow the boy. The bluebird brings life and play to the boys world. A friendship
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grows and then is hurt when a group of young kids take out the bluebird. The only color in the boys life is now dead, until readers see a bright group of birds surround the boy and carry him above the clouds to release his friend the blue bird. Your heart will pull for this young boy and feel what color his flying friend brings him. This would be a great book for young kids to imagine the vocabulary telling the story, for their heart to feel and their attention to be drawn to the pictures.
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LibraryThing member bouchk
Beautiful pictures, teslls the story of a boy who has few/no friends and befriends a bluebird. They walk through the city and when the boy meets some bullies they throw a stick. The bird blocks the stick and dies. Could be used to discuss bullying, help children understand grief and saying goodby
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to a loved one.
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LibraryThing member Mad.River.Librarian
Oh my. I am left with a lump in my throat and tears in my eye. This wordless picture book is a stunner. Please share with children that you care about, because it is emotional and deeply, deeply moving.
LibraryThing member charlottestudent
This is a story that would be helpful when discussing how bullying and teasing effects someone. The book has a theme of letting go and loss as well but is well presented. I think lower and upper elementary students would enjoy it.
LibraryThing member KayleighAdamsRossi
Bluebird is about a young boy who is lonely and obviously teased, or bullied by his peers, who realizes one day that a bluebird is following him around. The boy and the bluebird spend a whole day together, doing various activities around the town. At the end the boy and the bird encounter the
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bullies from the boys school. One of the bullies throws a stick ,trying to hurt the boy, and the bird gets in the way and gives his life for the boy. This book, even with no words has a powerful message. First, the effects that bullying can have on young kids. Secondly it gives a chance to talk to kids about death, and loss, and the feelings that go along with it. This book is amazing, and has a beautiful story of friendship.
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LibraryThing member kmetca1
I really liked this story. The first reason I liked it was, of course, for the illustrations. There was not any written text with this book, so the whole story was told from illustrations. The illustrations in this story were really great through. They were able to convey the plot across easily,
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and were very appropriate to the mood of the story. Looking through the story the reader is able to understand the emotions that they character is feeling just by witnessing the illustrations. The style of the illustrations is also consistent throughout the story, and have a quite interesting style. The pictures are placed almost as a cartoon. When looking at the story there are multiple things that happen on each page, and this makes the story quite engaging. This also helps to flow the story quite well. It is easier to see the plot from page to page in this format. Another reason I liked the story was because the plot was engaging. As the reader I was waiting to see what would happen with this little boy and bird. It was clear that the little boy was lonely, and this bird was going to be his friend, and I wondered what was going to happen to them. It was quite a surprise to me when the bluebird was attacked. This added a surprise to the story that I did not see coming. Although sad, this also make the story engaging. Another reason that I liked this story was because of how it is able to broaden readers’ perspectives. The story displays what it was like for this little boy to be bullied in, and out of the classroom. Without words, the story is able to show how the boy felt about being bullied. This story is a good way for readers to see how bullying can affect someone. It also allows readers to see how impactful their actions can be on someone else. The last reason that I like this story is because the plot is able to be interpreted differently. This allows readers to pull their own meaning out of the story. For example when the bird is carried at the end of the story some people could interpret this as the bird going to heaven, or possibly just being healed and flying away. Either way, readers are able to use their own imagination and critical thinking to understand the story. I think the big idea of the story is that bullying is hurtful and wrong. The main character was bullied to the point where even a helpless animal was injured, and this is a problem. But, through the story children are able to see the gravity of their actions.
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LibraryThing member pussreboots
Bob Staake has written and illustrated a ton of picture books but Bluebird is the only the second one I've read. I chose it specifically for the cover art comprised of basic geometric shapes, a limited pallet and a strikingly blue bird nearly center.

In this wordless picture book, a bluebird catches
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a boy's attention as he's at school in an urban center. The bird is the only source of saturated color, in an environment otherwise colored by cement, glass and steel.

The boy ends up spending a day of joyful frolicking in the forest or maybe Central Park with his bluebird friend. He's given a chance to reconnect with nature but it comes at a price. Here again is small animal, small child, and bully equation.

These sorts of plots always put me in revenge fantasy mode. They always have — even back when I was a child. Here especially, there is no redemption and no growth on the part of the bullies. They come, they destroy, and then the magic forest mojo happens for the boy's benefit.

Where are the books where the victims learn to stand up for themselves before tragedy happens?
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LibraryThing member Sullywriter
So sad and so beautiful. Simple and profound.
LibraryThing member Jessie_Bear
A lonely boy makes an unlikely friend in a bluebird in one the most moving wordless picture books to date. Staake’s stylized illustrations depict nuance in his story and characters, from the sweeping urban landscape to the tiny bluebird’s expressions. Varying sized panels pack more emotion and
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action into this story than can be captured with words and cue the reader’s timing on how long to read into each panel. Blue, white, black, and grey are the predominate colors in this story and Staake uses shading and coloring brilliantly to portray the mood in each part of the frame. Reader beware, this isn’t only a story of gentle friendship but also one about death, grief, and saying goodbye. Staake depicts death with enormous sensitivity and follows it with a beautiful ending that prompts further discussion. In the overfilling market of wordless picture books, Bluebird firmly stands on the top tier and is essential to any lending picture book collection. With tissues at the ready, Bluebird is very highly recommended for ages six and up.
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LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
Ooh, I'm a bit verklempt after seeing this. I can see lots of opportunity for a child to imaginatively narrate this wordless story.
LibraryThing member drobin24
This is a difficult book to read, both in it having no words and it having a sad plot. There are two main characters, a boy and a bluebird. The boy has no friends until the bird starts following him around. At the end of the book, the friendship is ended due to a bullying situation. This book
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pushes readers to think about tough issues, like bullying, loneliness, and death. Since it has no words, the reader can interpret the story however he/she wants, but the images are very clear. For example, the boy walks out of school in the opposite direction of a group of laughing kids, while he has a frown on his face. When the boy and bird start hanging out together, the pictures become more vibrant. Though there is a hopeful ending, it’s still a sad story. The big idea could be interpreted as finding hope in the midst of bad situations.
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LibraryThing member rjrubylou
This wordless picture book is very poignant in its message. The pictures tell the story of a boy who clearly is friendless and even worse, bullied. A little bluebird befriends the sad and lonely boy, only to be killed in an encounter with other children that are bullying the little boy. I am using
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this book this week in my fifth grade lesson to teach tone, mood, and character development. This is a different way of approaching these literary devices, and yet it works so well at so many different levels because it is an emotionally charged book.
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LibraryThing member michelleannlib
Wow! This is sure to be a Caldecott contender!
LibraryThing member ashleytylerjohn
I'm in the just terrific camp. The wordless pictures tell the story completely (and you don't need words--the characters are as wordless as the text, since boys and birds can't actually converse). Very moving at the end ... I hadn't read reviews, so came to this unspoiled.
LibraryThing member LibrarianRyan
I love a wordless picture book but I wish this one wasn’t so dad. It's just a big ball of depression. The illustrations are absolutely wonderful but I hate any book where an animal dies.
LibraryThing member melodyreads
twist at end can catch you off guard - make you cry

Original language

English

Original publication date

2013

Physical description

40 p.; 11.37 inches

ISBN

037597038X / 9780375970382
Page: 0.4576 seconds