Author: George Carruth

Illustrator: Libby Carruth Krock

Publisher: Too Much Fun, LLC

ISBN: 0-9773167-0-X

Any young child with a fascination for the wonders of nature will find a special home in the pages of George Carruth’s The Boy Who Loved Birds. This whimsical picture book follows a budding ornithologist through a dream in which he hatches from an egg, sprouts wings, masters the art of flight, and meets a winged girl with whom to raise hatchlings of their own. The story provides simplified answers to such perennial children’s questions as where birds come from, what baby birds like to eat, and how birds fly. Parents will appreciate the easy-reading prose and the soothing ending with the boy falling peacefully asleep—making this a welcome choice for the end of the bedtime-story lineup.

George Carruth has achieved national fame as a stone sculptor. He has worked on commission for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and was invited to create an ornament for the White House Christmas tree. This, his first children’s book, renders his artistic flair into words that have been richly illustrated by his daughter, Libby Carruth Krock. Her renditions of the spritely youngster with his endearingly nest-like hair have the quality of classic in the making. My one criticism, in fact, is that the drawings are two-page spreads, and the seam of the binding interferes with some of them.

Altogether, this book is a solidly recommended addition to any child’s library and could even stand alone as a compelling collection of images for an adult audience.

The above review was contributed by:  Jennifer MacKay: Jenny has published hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles. She is also a journals copy editor for Sage Publications and does independent consulting as a developmental book editor. Her chief writing and editing interests are in the juvenile market.