[.ca] Mole and the Baby Bird (ISBN 1582347840)

From Amazon.com:
This sweet, simple story from Marjorie Newman (The King and the Cuddly) and award-winning Scottish illustrator Patrick Benson (The Sea-Thing Child) somehow avoids cliché while teaching one of life's oldest lessons: if you love something, you really shouldn't hold it prisoner in a tiny, handmade wooden cage. With spare text, Newman explains how Mole finds a baby bird that has fallen out of its nest, apparently abandoned. ("Mole waited and waited, but no big bird came to help it.") He takes the tiny bird home to keep, despite his parents' warnings: "'It's my pet bird,' said Mole. 'It's not a pet bird. It's a wild bird,' said his mother." Eventually, the baby bird tries to fly, and the earnest, industrious Mole builds a cage (with the bird's help!) to keep him from leaving. ("He put the bird into its new cage. The bird was sad. Mole's mother was sad, too. But Mole kept his bird, because he loved it.") Eventually, it falls to visiting Grandad to gently nudge Mole into doing what he knows he must. As in The Sea-Thing Child (with Russell Hoban), Benson's understated artwork helps to keep this fairly adult message accessible for wee ones, with thoughtful compositions that carry the meter towards the book's inevitable end. But Benson's most memorable accomplishment is the subtly sad and comic baby bird, who regularly peeks out to look directly at the reader. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

beautiful story about love:
Mole finds a baby bird and wants to keep it as a pet. He loves his bird so much but realizes, with the help of Granddad Mole, that the bird is meant to fly. The lesson of loving and letting go is a special one in this book.

Uber-great book:
"Mole and the Baby bird" is a book that has a lot to give. The story is told in sparse - yet resonating text, and the message is clear and strong. Mole learns that baby bird needs to be free via the gentle nudging of his grandfather. The illustrations are detailed and delightful - the spread where mole pretends to fly is beautifully rendered. I came home with so many "abandoned " birds - I just wish this had been around when I was young. Recommended to the enth...

Great book.:
A beautiful, touching, honest book with a great lesson.

First Graders Recommend:
First grade students complimented the charming watercolor illustrations, THEN noted that this story is both happy and sad. When Mole finds an abandoned baby bird, he takes it home. He builds a nest for his new charge, finds it food, and learns how to feed it. When the bird flutters its wings to fly, Mole builds a cage. Thankfully, grandfather arrives just in time and helps Mole learn the lesson of love and loss. First graders waited with bated breath for the story's conclusion. Would Mole set the baby bird free?

A gentle parable with an important life lesson:
Mole And The Baby Bird is the color picture book story of a mole who finds a young wild creature in need and tries his best to look after it. But wild creatures are not pets, and soon Mole must accept that the bird he sheltered can't stay with him forever. Written by Marjorie Newman and illustrated by Patrick Benson is highly recommended as a gentle parable with an important life lesson for young readers.