My Happy Year by E. Bluebird

An eastern bluebird narrates the second installment of Meisel’s A Nature Diary series. Born in a nesting box, E. Bluebird’s anthropomorphic musings relate the milestones of her first year, from hatching and fledging to migrating and mating. As in My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis, the animal at the center of this life cycle story keeps her dated entries short and sweet. “September 28: I see a flock of Bluebirds. We’re going south! I catch up with my family just in time.” Close-ups of the narrator as a chick, squawking hungrily and sleeping with her siblings, give way to ground-up or bird’s-eye views as flocks head out for the winter. The dynamic illustrations, rendered in digitally enhanced acrylics, imagine the simple tale in rich colors: a field of orange pumpkins precedes a gray sky full of migrating bluebirds, which segues into scenes featuring the tropical greenery (and predators!) of E. Bluebird’s winter home. A fact-filled introduction and a concluding glossary and resource list offer plenty of detailed information for ornithologically inclined readers. Ages 4–8. Agent: Jennifer Mattson, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Mar.)