For as long as there have been books, there have been bookworms, people who love books and who are happy to spend hours reading them. Sometimes bookworms get so wrapped up in the books that they read that they have trouble connecting with the real world. In today's picture book you are going to meet a big who is just such a bookworm.
Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie
Calvin Can’t Fly: The Story of a Bookworm Birdie
Jennifer Berne
Illustrated by Keith Bendis
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Sterling, 2010, 978-1-4027-7323-5
Calvin is a young starling and he lives under the eaves
of an old barn with his siblings and all his cousins. When the young starlings explore
the ground for the first time, Calvin’s siblings discover worms, grass, dirt,
and water. Calvin discovers a book, and from that moment he is hooked on the
written word. While Calvin’s brothers and sisters are chasing insects, Calvin
is learning to read, and when they are taking flying lessons, Calvin is at the
library reading books. Though Calvin does not know how to fly, “his mind
soared” when he reads books. Books can take “him to places wings never could.”
Though Calvin’s cousins tease him and called
him names, Calvin does not give up his love of books. Instead he sadly goes to
the library, the one place where he feels happy. He spends his summer reading
and learning, soaking up information about everything and anything.
Then summer
turns into fall and the starlings prepare to fly south. There is just one
problem. Calvin cannot fly, which means that he will have to stay in the barn
for the fall and winter. All alone.
In this
wonderful picture book we see how important it is to follow your heart, even if
it means that you don’t always fit in with your peers. Readers will be
delighted to see that in the end, Calvin’s love of books turns out to be an
asset for him and his extremely large family. Being a bookworm might not, in
some people’s opinion, be ‘cool,’ but the rest of know better.
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