BOOK REVIEW: My Dad's a Birdman

"I've got me wings and me faith," said Dad.  Isn't that all we really have in the end, wings to help us rise and fall throughout our lives, and faith in ourselves, our family and friends and what the future will bring?  This is one of the most delightful and refreshing books I've read in a while!  Jackie Crow and his daughter Lizzie share the unique bond of a father and daughter, struggling to, although subtlety, to cope with the loss of Lizzie's mom.  We, the reader, are like Lizzie set between the imaginative, hopeful whimsy of her "birdman" father and her grounded, realistic Auntie Doreen.  Set in a northern English town, we meet Lizzie early one morning as she gets herself ready for school and as we come to learn is playing the role of a sort of parent figure for her father.  Quick, witty and smart Lizzie is worried for her Dad as he trudges through his days, the only light in his eye when he talks about birds and his hope to fly.  Soon, the "Human Bird Competition" comes to town and Jackie is ready to enter.  The story takes readers alight as we fly along through the beautiful illustrations from Polly Dunbar and put our faith in the characters in this whimsically, quirky modern British fairy tale of sorts (with a narrative voice that begs the reader to try out an accent for fun!).  Will Jackie and Lizzie really fly?  Read to find out! (Perfect for a read aloud, Ages 6 and up)

Here's a wonderful review from the Guardian of a play that was created from the book over in England:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/nov/30/my-dads-a-birdman-review
Images from the show:

And a link to more of Dunbar's work, also from the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2010/sep/21/gallery-penguin-polly-dunbar