My Happy Year by E. Bluebird

Gr 2–4—It is E. Bluebird's birthday! E. is an Eastern Bluebird, and this story takes readers through a year in her life beginning at day one. When E. and her siblings hatch, they cannot see and must rely on their mother for food. As they grow, their eyesight improves and they begin to grow feathers, and eventually become more comfortable striking out on their own. Will E. be brave enough to leave the nest in time for her family's great migration? Short sentences, large text, and bright, vivid illustrations engage readers, whether bluebirds are familiar to them or not. Though it is nonfiction, the work reads as fiction for an early reader due to the design, word choice, and sentence length. A spread at the beginning provides more detailed information about bluebirds and serves to introduce children to the real animals upon which this story is based.