Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
My Dad's A Birdman
"Flight as a metaphor for love's transcendence over grief takes a new form in this comic piece of magical realism."
-School Library Journal
In a rainy town in the north of England, there are strange goings-on. Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Contest barker Mr. Poop is parading the...more
-School Library Journal
In a rainy town in the north of England, there are strange goings-on. Dad is building a pair of wings, eating flies, and feathering his nest. Auntie Doreen is getting cross and making dumplings. Contest barker Mr. Poop is parading the...more
Published
October 1st 2007
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
247)
Okay...here I am a month later and I have to say just thinking about this one creeps me out...keep that in mind...
Lizzie and her dad live alone together. Dad wants to be a bird. He eats bugs, makes wings, and doesn't do normal adult things at all. Lizzie is the adult in the family but can't cope because she's a little child. An aunt checks in on them frequently, but does not understand how to deal with their world. When a "human bird contest" comes to town, Lizzie and her dad decide to show off...more
Lizzie and her dad live alone together. Dad wants to be a bird. He eats bugs, makes wings, and doesn't do normal adult things at all. Lizzie is the adult in the family but can't cope because she's a little child. An aunt checks in on them frequently, but does not understand how to deal with their world. When a "human bird contest" comes to town, Lizzie and her dad decide to show off...more
In My Dad's a Birdman, author David Almond's first book for young readers, we meet a young girl named Lizzie whose very eccentric father is building wings so that he can fly like a bird. Everyone, including Lizzie's dumpling-obsessed Aunt Doreen, is sure that Lizzie's father is off his rocker is will only get himself and Lizzie into trouble or even seriously hurt. Lizzie, however, ultimately joins her father on his quest to enter the Great Human Bird Competition and discover a way to make his dr...more
Dear David,
Well, you got me. After my rapturous reading of My Name is Mina, I came to My Dad's a Birdman with open arms. I fell in love with the jacket and then, I fell in love with the book.
The thing about your books, about Mina, about Skellig, and about My Dad's a Birdman, is that they are full of magic. And it's not top-hat, wand-wielding, rabbit out of a hat magic. It's the sort of magic that lives next door. Or in the kitchen. Or in the hands of a dumpling pulled together by song.
And it's t...more
Well, you got me. After my rapturous reading of My Name is Mina, I came to My Dad's a Birdman with open arms. I fell in love with the jacket and then, I fell in love with the book.
The thing about your books, about Mina, about Skellig, and about My Dad's a Birdman, is that they are full of magic. And it's not top-hat, wand-wielding, rabbit out of a hat magic. It's the sort of magic that lives next door. Or in the kitchen. Or in the hands of a dumpling pulled together by song.
And it's t...more
Impressive. Subtle & beautifully crafted fable of loss and rebirth, a counterpoint response to the story of Daedalus & Icarus. The casual reader will enjoy it as a funny story, with charming illustrations - but upon re-reading will appreciate language and metaphor and themes. I don't want to spoil it for you so I won't say more - it's short, so you can find the time to make it yourself.
I will say that if you appreciate the juveniles by James Thurber, likeThe 13 Clocks and Many Moons, you...more
I will say that if you appreciate the juveniles by James Thurber, likeThe 13 Clocks and Many Moons, you...more
Quirky and whimsical are two words that come to mind to describe this book. Little Lizzie is obviously worried about her dysfunctional father who hasn't showered or shaved or apparently done anything for a while, perhaps since her mother died. Her father is a skilled artist who once could make anything--and now all of a sudden the light of inspiration has visited him again, as he intends to enter the upcoming Great Human Bird Competition. This contest has drawn people from all over the world who...more
Reason for Reading: I am quite fond of David Almond as an author. He reminds me of Roald Dahl with his mixture of humour and darkness but he isn't so obvious as Dahl.
This certainly is a quite a beautiful story. Using metaphors and imagery of flight and birds to help a father and daughter overcome the grief from the death of the mother makes for a touching story. On the surface we have a silly, whimsical, humorous story of a dad who is turning into a bird so he can win the Great Human Bird Compet...more
This certainly is a quite a beautiful story. Using metaphors and imagery of flight and birds to help a father and daughter overcome the grief from the death of the mother makes for a touching story. On the surface we have a silly, whimsical, humorous story of a dad who is turning into a bird so he can win the Great Human Bird Compet...more
Written in the third person, this book tells the story of Lizzie and her Father. Although never explicitly written, it is implied that Lizzie's Mother has died and so Lizzie and her Father are left to cope alone. It seems to me to be a story in which Lizzie and her Father overcome their grief through 'Father's' obsession with being able to fly and their partnership in the Human Bird Competition. Although this story did have some sad undertones, it is ultimately a humorous read (especially with t...more
Let me preface this with the statement that I have read several David Almond books and have always loved them. This one, written for a younger audience than the ones I read previously, extracted a whole range of feelings from me. I spent a fair amount of time wondering about the Dad and the question of who was the adult and who was the child in this family. There are a lot of unanswered questions which is not unusual for Almond but in this case, since it's a children's book, I wonder about how t...more
This lovingly illustrated book tells the story of young Lizzie and her Dad. Without her mom, Lizzie has been looking after her dad, with the help of her Aunt Doreen, who pops in every now and then. Her headmaster, Mr. Mint has been very understanding of the challenges of her home life.
With the upcoming Great Human Bird Competition, dad has been putting together a set of wings so that he can enter the competition. At first Lizzie isn't sure, but she gradually comes around and decided to enter alo...more
With the upcoming Great Human Bird Competition, dad has been putting together a set of wings so that he can enter the competition. At first Lizzie isn't sure, but she gradually comes around and decided to enter alo...more
David Almond struck a chord that resonated throughout the Kids' Team with My Dad's a Birdman, a novel that is whimsically illustrated and darkly comic in a very British way. The story of Lizzie and her dad bonding over the Great Human Bird Competition (which also serves to mask their grief over Mom's death) has both the strange lightheartedness of Roald Dahl's Matilda and the emotional maturity of Michael Rosen's Sad Book. My Dad's a Birdman was originally a play, and one of the character's name...more
I picked this up as an interesting book to read to my nine-year old and, in a way, it was. In a very surreal way that is. It's almost like entering the asylum given the fixation that Dad has with becoming a bird; in tooth and claw. That a showman then comes to town with offer of a flying competition only adds to the delirium. So on many levels this was a great book for a small boy; I got to do lots of silly voices and he got to enjoy a world were adults do very odd things indeed and the most sen...more
Jul 29, 2011
Catherine Woodman
added it
This would be a great book for a kid who is an early reader, so something that is more substantive to read than a picture book, and yet doesn't have content that is totally over the head of a 4-5 year old is perfect--the illustrations are very good, and go humorously with the story--which is a bit light for the average 8-9 year old, but would be perfect for a younger reader. There are not alot of books that work well for those young kids (Roald Dahl's Magic Finger is one such book), and so while...more
I really wanted to like this one more than I did. It seemed like it should be a sweet funny story with endearing little illustrations. Instead of funny, though, it came off as sort of sad- a bereaved father so upset that he thinks he's a bird. I liked the illustrations, I liked the idea of the story, and I thought it sounded like a perfect david Almond piece to write, but somehow it didn't come together correctly mood-wise. I just think that it should have ended up more Roald Dahl- fun and silly...more
Very cute book about Lizzie and her father. Set in England, she more or less looks after her father. One day he starts acting stranger than usual - eating flies and worms and acting like a bird. Auntie Doreen shows up and she is even more concerned. Lizzie stays back from school to keep an eye on him and now she is worried. It turns out he has signed up for a human flying contest which is why he has made a giant pair of wings! The audio was great. very fun for young kids.
I do like the book -- love the overall design of it and Dunbar's illustrations (except for where she forgot to put HOLEY slippers on Dad's feet -- and maybe when Dad looks very thin and drawn while the text calls for somewhat a fuller-bellied man who worries about being too heavy to fly.)
I'm pleased on the one hand and disappointed on the other that the father/daughter pair did not actually fly, and the final page of everyone's feet OFF of the ground is done too briefly and too lightly -- didn't...more
I'm pleased on the one hand and disappointed on the other that the father/daughter pair did not actually fly, and the final page of everyone's feet OFF of the ground is done too briefly and too lightly -- didn't...more
What an odd book. I picked this up because I love Polly Dunbar's illustrations (and they do not disappoint) and I thought the premise sounded kinda cute -- a father and daughter enter a flying competition dressed as birds.
It's actually rather disturbing. The dad is sort of crazy, seemingly after an unexplainable tragedy that has taken his wife, and he believes he is a bird, and, thus, acts like one. This reverses the father/daughter roles, and Lizzie tends to him.
What bothered me was that the...more
It's actually rather disturbing. The dad is sort of crazy, seemingly after an unexplainable tragedy that has taken his wife, and he believes he is a bird, and, thus, acts like one. This reverses the father/daughter roles, and Lizzie tends to him.
What bothered me was that the...more
I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. The illustrations were darling - we love Polly Dunbar. But I'm not quite sure how well they fit with the story. The story was ... interesting to say the least. But whether you expect it to or want it to the story kinda sticks with you. Not really for life-changing or altering reasons though.
I love David Almond's books because they usually combine some really serious heavy stuff with the wonder of childhood, and it is so true to life, I wonder how the author remembers all of those vivid feelings from childhood. That being said, I'm not really sure what to make of this book, his first for "younger readers." Polly Dunbar's illustrations are beautiful, and make the story seem really lighthearted and whimsical, but the delusional, bug-eating dad, dead mother, daugther on her own undercu...more
When I read the bookjacket of this book and saw that there is a character called Mr. Poop, I knew that I HAD to read it. Well, not only is there a Mr. Poop, but there is also a Mrs. Doody!
Lizzie's father has decided that he wants to enter The Great Human Bird Competition and is willing to do whatever it takes to fly. Polly Dunbar's illustrations bring the text to life and remind me a lot of Roald Dahl's work. This story is part silly and whimsical and part...sad. While the dad's behavior and th...more
Lizzie's father has decided that he wants to enter The Great Human Bird Competition and is willing to do whatever it takes to fly. Polly Dunbar's illustrations bring the text to life and remind me a lot of Roald Dahl's work. This story is part silly and whimsical and part...sad. While the dad's behavior and th...more
A metaphor with dialogue in the cockney accent. It's about much more than entering a human bird contest. It's about togetherness and finding happiness when you're lost inside the pit of grief. Cute short novel from an odd bird author.
This story is a bit odd and Roald Dahl-ish with young Lizzie, after her mother's death, doesn't know whether to support, empathize or prevent her father, who thinks he's a birdman, from entering The Human Birdman Competition.
This book is about a dad who wants to enter the flying bird competition and so the dad acts like a bird.his daughter Elizibeth enters with him but her crazy aunt trys to stop them!
Very fun and quirky! I have to admit that I have never read a David Almond book that I didn not like.
I just found this creepy and odd - couldn't get into it and can't imagine who I'd recommend it to....
pretty good. it is very fictional though and is retty short. about a man who is half bird.
David Almond is a writer of great mysterious thoughtful novels for older kids and young adults. This book, Birdman, aims for poignant and quirky, and misses. It comes off as a slightly creepy book about a little girl whose grieving father has gone off into psychosis. She's too little to take care of herself & all the other adults in her life are ineffectual characters borrowed from Roald Dahl stories. The illustrations are lovely.
And, what do I know? The kid says "it's great!," and admires t...more
And, what do I know? The kid says "it's great!," and admires t...more
This is a lovely little chapter book about how one family deals with the death of wife/mother. The father, Jackie, is having a very difficult time and decides to enter the Human Bird competition. Little Lizzie is holding things together with help from her head teacher Mr. Mint and the overbearing Auntie Doreen. It comes down to everyone being there for each other and giving up a bit of control in order to come back together as a family. David Almond writes in his wonderful northern England accen...more
Awwww kinda heart-warming tho completely bonkers.
2013 March, ELL310, EL310(3wks)
Cute children's book with clever names and a fun story.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
David Almond is a British children's writer who has penned several novels, each one to critical acclaim. He was born and raised in Felling and Newcastle in post-industrial North East England and educated at the University of East Anglia. When he was young, he found his love of writing when some short stories of his were published in a local magazine. He started out as an author of adult fiction be...more
More about David Almond...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“Time’s Flying,” said Dad. He Smiled. He pointed to the air. “There it is, flying past! Catch it!” And he jumped, and caught Time in his hands, and showed it to Lizzie. She took it from him, and threw it up again.
“There it goes,” she called. “Bye-bye. Bye-bye, Time!”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
“There it goes,” she called. “Bye-bye. Bye-bye, Time!”
