Items related to Billy the Bird
Synopsis
Look up into the starry sky on the night of the full moon and you'll see...a bird? A plane? No...a little boy!
Eight-year-old Mary Bird has discovered a secret: her four-year-old brother Billy can fly! Floating around his room is bad enough, but when he takes off out an open window, Mary's sure disaster isn't far behind. She may be right!
This whimsical, satisfying, young middle-grade fantasy by Dick King-Smith is filled with action, adventure, and lovable talking animals.
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About the Author
Dick King-Smith was born and raised in Gloucestershire, England, surrounded by pet animals. After twenty years as a farmer, he turned to teaching and then to writing children's books. Dick wrote mostly about animals: farmyard fantasy, as he likes to call it, often about pigs, his special favorites. He enjoyed writing for children, meeting the children who read his books, and knowing that they get enjoyment from what he does. Among his well-loved books are Babe: The Gallant Pig, which was made into a major motion picture and was nominated for an Academy Award.
From Publishers Weekly
This slender tale features King-Smith's (Babe, the Gallant Pig; Spider Sparrow) signature talking animals and gentle humor, but falls shy of his usual standards. Mary Bird is eight the summer she discovers that her little brother can fly. On Friday, June 20, "I looked up, and there I saw Billy--his nose, his tummy, and his toes touching the ceiling. He wasn't walking in his sleep, he was floating in it!" With the help of her guinea pig and cat (both of which can talk), Mary deduces that Billy can defy gravity only during a full moon. One August night, Billy--who has no recollection of his feats the morning after--actually makes it out his window, swooping through the night sky. So begins a series of mild adventures--including a cat burglar who gets his comeuppance when an "alien" (Billy) attacks him--until a lunar eclipse grounds Billy for good. King-Smith makes some slapstick jokes about the situation ("Goodness, how time flies," remarks their mother concerning the late hour, "And that's not the only thing that's been flying," says Mary to herself), and younger readers ready to test their wings on a short novel should find the story engaging. But the novel jumps from one of Billy's flights to the next, without much character development or description of daily life. Fans of King-Smith's more substantial fare may wish this one were a bit more meaty. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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- PublisherSCHOLASTIC INC. @
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 043937541X
- ISBN 13 9780439375412
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages67
- IllustratorSusie Jenkins-Pearce
- Rating
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Billy the Bird
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. Susie Jenkins-Pearce (illustrator). Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00063134685
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Billy the Bird
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Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Susie Jenkins-Pearce (illustrator). This book is in very nice shape, except that the cover does not lay down flat on the rest of the book. Seller Inventory # CPB5371
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