Today at the Bluebird Café: A Branchful of Birds

by Deborah Ruddell

It's all-you-can-eat
at the Bluebird Café,
A grasshopper-katydid-cricket buffet,
with berries and snails
and a bluebottle fly,
a sip of the lake
and a bite of the sky.


A world of birds unfolds in twenty-two vivid poems that capture the unique personalities of birds from backyard blue jays to toucans and cockatoos. Come sweep through the sky with an eagle, compare table manners with a vulture, and mock a mockingbird -- if you dare!

Debora Ruddell's poems are funny and thoughtful, silly and sweet. Joan Rankin's delightful pictures enchant the eye and tickle the funny bone. There is something for everyone who flies through the pages of this brilliantly birdbrained book.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Birds, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 27, 2007

About the author

Deborah Ruddell is the author of the celebrated picture books Who Said Coo?, illustrated by Robin Luebs, and A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk and Today at the Bluebird Cafe, both illustrated by Joan Rankin.

Before writing children’s books, she was an art teacher and a graphic designer. Deborah lives in Peoria, Illinois.

Reviews

[Melki]

Ruddell presents some fun, rhyming tributes to our feathered friends, accompanied by dreamy illustrations by Joan Rankin. My favorite:

The Loon's Laugh

No tweedle-dee-dee on your windowsill.
No sunshiny tune from the top of the hill.
No chirp. No coo. No warble or cheep.
No bubbly twitter or sweet little peep.
The kind of laugh in the purple of night
that makes you sit up and turn on the light.
A wail. A chuckle. A shriek at the moon.
You pull up your covers. You hope it's a loon.

[Hanne Heimonen]

I loved the illustrations of this book! It has 21 different poems about birds and the poems have sweet rhymes. The book takes you on an adventure to birds life! It gives you information about the birds but focuses more on the personalities than just facts.

[Joanne Roberts]

Some really fun poems in this collection, all are somewhat light-hearted, most have an educational tidbit. The illustrations are loose and casual, though some of the best are when the art depicts a bird in a more serious style, like the gorgeous spread with the owl. Many of the poems are from the perspective of the birds and some are down-right silly. This should be a good collection to get kids interested in petry without really noticing. A nice mix.

[Katie Walters]

This is a wonderful book because of it's content and artwork. It captures characteristics of birds children will or have seen outside in everyday life. Overall, this is a fun and playful book that will teach students about species of birds using short, funny poems.

[Shiloah]

Delightful!

[Jessica]

Catching illustrations and a great way to bring nature into the literature classroom.

[Paige Craig]

Uh...maybe this can be use on some potery level for the classroom, but for younger grade level students. This is a no go book.

[uma]

So sweet and funny

[Angela]

The artwork was really cute and some of the poems were quite clever, but about half the poems mocked animals in a negative way and I don't like that.

[Bridget R. Wilson]

Have you ever considered birds? I mean, we see them, admire them, but have you ever stopped to think what they might have to say? Deborah Ruddell did and presents their thoughts in this collection of 22 poems.

What I thought: I've liked Deborah Ruddell ever since I read her A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk. Reading her first collection was highly enjoyable. These poems are full of imagery and surprises. Perhaps not as humorous as those in her second collection, but satisfying all the same. My favorite poems are "The Cardinal," "There's a Robin in the Bathroom," The Kingfisher," The Quail," "Bravo, Bobolink," and "The Swan." My most favorite is "The Swan." I read it during a fairy tale themed after school program and the kids loved it. The illustrations are lovely--so soft and yet bright colored. My favorites are the puffin and the swan.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian]

Poems that are short and sweet - perfect for little listeners. They have a touch of humor in them as well. The illustrations are mellow and beautiful - covering the whole page.

Poem Shared: The Eagle

Theme: Flying
Additional themes: birds

Reviewed from a library copy.

[double stuff]

This was recommended to me...Ilook forward to reading it to my chitlins.

[Laura]

This is a cute book of bird-themed poetry with some great, colorful illustrations to go along with the poems. For children and adults who are bird lovers, I'd recommend this book!

[Jen]

Fun poems that introduce students to a wide variety of birds. The poems say so much about the birds in such few words. (Choice)

[Elizabeth]

Some of these poems are funny, some are a little more serious, and many lend themselves to developing them into stories--Maddie is plotting a few already!

[Dawn Malone]

This is great read-aloud poetry. Clever, witty verse with vivid imagery. The whimsical illustrations compliment the poems beautifully.

[Sarah]

(4-8)

[Katharine]

Fun to read, cute illustrations. Kids rate it 100 stars.

[Nicole Angelo]

This book was cute and very colorful. It teaches children about all the different birds there are. The artwork was amazing! I couldn't stop looking at the pictures!

[Aolund]

A nice journey through the avian world with rhyming poems all about various kinds of birds. Beautiful and fun watercolor illustrations. Poems are both educational and delightful.