Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds and Me

What do a bowerbird and an artist have in common? More than one might think. In this cheerfully offbeat tale, Roth compares her work as a collage artist to the magpie creativity of male bowerbirds, who build elaborate shelters adorned with a variety of found objects to attract mates. Listing their many similarities—“we are both collectors of unusual, often unrelated stuff”; “we both are dependent upon nature and on manufactured junk for our art supplies”—she gives young readers an honest look at the creative process that slyly undermines the notion that vaunted human activities are unique. Rich cut-paper collages studded with gems, sparkly pipe cleaners, feathers, and paper ephemera depict artist and bird at work. Endnotes delve further into facts about bowerbirds and their similarities to the artist, and present an eclectic bibliography alongside a photo of a blue-eyed bowerbird and his bottle cap–bedecked creation. Ages 4–8. [em](May) [/em]