Once, a Bird

Once, a Bird, a wordless picture book, tells the story of a solitary robin. The bird is first shown in a wintery rural landscape, finding a bud that heralds spring. The bird journeys, and readers see various landscapes from above. Farmland gives way to highways, and the bird ends up in a more urban environment. This space, however, is eerily quiet. The roads are empty of cars, and there is no one on a playground or at a church. The bird eventually comes to an apartment building where it lands on a tree and starts singing to the delight of an elderly resident. Soon, many of the building’s inhabitants are enjoying the bird’s presence, watching and listening to it from their windows. The bird builds a nest in the tree, and its hatchlings are born. As mother and babies fly over the building, the residents are seen enjoying their lives both within and outside the building.

Something small having an impact on something big is a theme that may particularly appeal to young children. Wordless picture books like this one are great for encouraging conversation and simply showing how a book works - pages turn from right to left, story flows from left to right, etc. The author was inspired to write this story during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which explains the abandoned places and the isolation of the apartment building’s residents. However, without this context, the beginning scenes are almost post-apocalyptic. Without words, the reader cannot be sure as to why these places are abandoned and why the residents do not, at first, come outside. Regardless of the context, the reciprocal relationship between the bird and the residents shows the comfort nature and connection can bring.

The illustrations are soft and muted. The robin is expressive, and the landscapes and settings it is placed in are clearly recognizable, a crucial feature in a book without words. The apartment building residents are thoughtfully diverse in both race and age.

Once, a Bird is a cute, simple, book with an inspiring message.