Caring for a Baby Bird

A HarperCollins My First I Can Read! easy reader, Just a Baby Bird by Mercer Mayer is another adventure of the Little Critter and his family.  In this story for children ages 4-8 who are learning to read with help, Little Critter and his sister discover a baby bird whose momma is nowhere to be found.  The family takes care of the bird until it is time for it to fly away, but the bird returns in the spring with a family of its own. Published in 2016, this story is told in an accessible manner for emergent readers with short words and lines, a 24-point typeface, and plenty of white space.  The brightly-colored illustrations help to communicate the story and will be familiar to fans of the Little Critter series, while the modern touches of Mom looking up what to feed the baby bird online and Dad using his smartphone to take a picture of it add modern elements that children will recognize.  Children will enjoy reading this story of compassion and patience on their own or experiencing it as a read aloud.