Birdy & Bou

Bou hears the floating library coming down the river and he can’t wait to go and borrow his favourite book. When he finds out that Birdy has already taken it, he goes to find Birdy. Bou finds that while Birdy does indeed have the book, he doesn’t know how to read it.

Bou shows Birdy the book and together they read the book over and over until it’s time to return it to the library. However, the library boat has already left and Bou can’t get the book back – but his new friend Birdy can!

This simple story of a new friendship has some exotic elements to keep things fresh – little panda Bou is a cute character and the other animals shown are unusual and beautiful. The message of sharing is always useful and while it isn’t spelled out in this book, the story ends with the two new friends together.

The bright colours, bold style and short text make this a lovely picture book for young readers moving up from board books. It is the first book in a new series from the pair behind Roo the Roaring Dinosaur.