by Annette Simon
There's a deceptive simplicity about this back-and-forth between two birds. One's red, the other's blue, and the idea is that you read one color and your kid reads the other as they mimic each other.
Or, in my case, I read both, but in different voices. But before I could stop myself, I took on a cadence, and began to notice the story's singsong quality:
be a good egg
be a good egg
change your tune.
change your tune.
stop singing my song!
stop singing my song!
In the book, the lines are also staggered, so the colors and layout work in harmony with its jazzy meter. Eventually, the two birds join up, chirping purple lyrics, until a purple bird joins them as their songs spread this way and that across the page. Even the wires where they perch become bars of music.
Simon, who worked in advertising, channels Milton Glaser, the guru of modern design with his "I [heart] NY" and "LOVE" logos. Her minimalist style makes the most of a few simple shapes and primary colors surrounded by ample white space. The way the figures appear on the page is part of the book's musicality, with their own visual rhythm.
That's just to say there's more than meets the eye here, and more to the ear as well.
Rating: *\*\*\
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