Mole and the Baby Bird (ISBN 0747561192)

Amazon.com Review:
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

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

beautiful book:
I was 6 months pregnant when my older son got this book as a gift and it made my eyes well up every time I read it. It's a beautiful book. Both the story and the illustrations are wonderful.

Wonderful!:
This small story is a gem: simply told, beautifully illustrated. The story - young Mole saves a baby bird that has fallen from the nest, cages it because he doesn't want to lose it, then learns to free it because he loves it - conveys a familiar lesson. But it is deft, never heavy-handed, with lessons for parents as well as children. Mole's parents tell him he should let the bird go, but cannot convince him. His wiser grandfather gives Mole a taste of the joy of flight; Mole learns his lesson from experience, not authority. Best of all, our daughter loves it.

Perfect for teaching theme:
When I introduce theme to my fourth grade students, I like to use short, easily decodable books. This book is perfect. It's quick to read, but it leaves a lasting impression, and gives us plenty to talk about. This is perfect for any teacher's shelf!

Just a lovely story...:
My husband picked this up for my son (18 months) at our local independent bookstore. Since then, it is a consistent favorite - not just with our son, but with the entire family. It is beautifully told, a lovely tale, and wonderfully illustrated. I actually came on this site hoping to find more of her books in print. I believe it is a story that will bear re-telling for years to come.