I Heard Said the Bird - Hardcover

Thanks to what the bird heard, the barnyard is all a-flutter with the rumor of a "new one." But the bird has only half the story: she doesn't know exactly what or who the "new one" is. Even after polling one another the farm menagerie has no clue. Just as the cow, mare, duck, hare, pig and mouse begin to doubt the bird, a boy comes from the house to settle the matter. Then, "very quietly, they all tiptoed to the window and looked inside. 'It's a new baby,' the little boy whispered." Only the most hardened neigh-sayers will fail to delight in Berends's rhyming dialogue: no animal sounds here, just bouncy, anthropomorphic discourse: "'How?' said the cow. 'When?' said the hen. 'Where?' said the mare." Sneed's (When the Fly Flew In; Turkey in the Straw) luminous watercolors feature animals caught in gleeful gestures from arresting perspectives. An entertaining take on "a little birdie told me," this upbeat book is perfect for children anticipating the birth of a "new one" in their own homes. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 2^-5. Curiosity and eager anticipation exude from the wide eyes, alert ears, craning necks, and outstretched whiskers of the barnyard animals. What is the cause of their excitement? Bird has announced that a "new one" is coming, and the animals are trying to determine whose "new one" it will be. Sneed's heartily colored, inquisitive animals loom large on the pages as they question one another--sometimes in lilting rhymes--about the expected newcomer. But each critter from pig to hare to mouse to mare denies that the new one is its. Aroused by the barnyard commotion, a boy approaches and confirms the arrival, then leads the animals to the farm house window where they peek in and see the new baby born to the farmer and his wife. From the expressive animals to the realistic features of the infant and big brother, Sneed's watercolors steal the show, embroidering the heralding of a new birth with humor and exuberance. Ellen Mandel