cover image Nerdy Birdy Tweets

Nerdy Birdy Tweets

Aaron Reynolds, illus. by Matt Davies. Roaring Brook/Porter, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-62672-128-9

Nerdy Birdy and Vulture, who became pals in 2015’s Nerdy Birdy, return in this social media–themed sequel, which puts their relationship to the test after Nerdy Birdy starts making online friends on Tweetster and ignoring the friend right in front of him. After @nerdybirdy tweets an unflattering lunch photo of @vulturegirl (“She eats dead things. Ewwwwwww!!”), Vulture has had enough, leading to a line that seems to sum up the book’s reason for existence: “Just because you thought it, doesn’t mean you should tweet it.” It’s advice that translates just fine to nondigital situations (“If you can’t say something nice...”), but despite Reynolds’s sharp dialogue and Davies’s appealingly ugly-cute illustrations, the plot feels mismatched to the book’s audience—though kids will get the Angry Worms reference just fine. Ages 4–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (Aug.)