Two Titles: Two Different Delightful Days with Dads

I suppose I should save this for Father's Day, but then, I tend to reject herding wonderful books into narrow opportunities like theme months and designated days. So, I'll double down and share TWO remarkably similar yet distinctly different picture books with the identical title: 

I AM A BIRD.

CANDLEWICK, 2021

First, I AM A BIRD is written by Hope Lim and illustrated by Hyewon Yum. In this case Daddy takes his imaginative daughter to school each day on the back of his bike- or is that a bird perched behind him? She waves her arms and sings out her birdsong, until she spots a certain older woman with a bag and a frown. Her sudden silence signals wariness, until the day when she discovers what is in that bag and finds a kindred spirit. There is much to love about this.

"Each day, a rosy-cheeked girl rides to school in the booster seat on the back of Daddy’s bike, pretending to fly and sing like the many birds in their coastal town... It’s a simple tale for the youngest set of readers, written around an overt message of not judging too quickly and finding connections in unexpected ways... Yum’s soft colored-pencil illustrations complement the words with a pleasant atmosphere, setting the tone through gently bright colors and the simple, smiling features of her characters... A sweetly serene story with a useful lesson."
—Booklist

Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2021

But then...a different  I AM A BIRD is written by David Walrath and illustrated by Jaime Kim.

This story unfolds with minimalist text progression, each short statement leading to a new, interpretive round, always generating exuberant physical demonstrations and interpretations of beach life: 

"I am a bird, I fly. // I am a fly. I land // I am land. I stretch to the sea."

Children will notice the progression and quickly engage with the thought-provoking page turns, gently settling into the  small-hand-friendly spreads of sea, sand, waves, and wonder. 

    From Indiebound:

"Celebrate the bonds between fathers, sons, and nature with this lovely, sun-drenched debut picture book.

I am a bird. I glide
into arms open wide.
I’m the hands that hold
and the eyes that shine…
when it’s you
and it’s me
and the sea.

A boy and his father spend their day at the beach, exploring the shore, the sand, the water, and everything in between. The result is a warm, elegant celebration of nature, connection, and the myriad relationships formed all around us."

There are many similarities between these, but each merits its own attention and celebration of time spent together, of imagination, and of deep emotional connections. Enjoy!